asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will seek to ban the import of unpeeled timber to lessen the risk of further disease in British trees.

Current legislation already provides for the removal of bark from imported wood of a wide range of species where there are risks that potentially dangerous tree pests and diseases new to Britain may otherwise be introduced.These restrictions will be reinforced when the EEC plant health directive is implemented by an order which the Forestry Commission plans to lay before Parliament shortly.