asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether users of garden care products purchased from garden centres or other retailers may be prosecuted under the Control of Pesticide Regulations 1986 if the use of products so purchased is illegal and whether in these circumstances such users have any defence in proceedings against them.

Users of garden pesticides would be in breach of the Control of Pesticide Regulations 1986 if they:

(a) had used a pesticide which had not first been approved by Ministers;

(b) had not complied with the conditions of approval for use as set out on the product label; or

(c) had not taken all reasonable precautions to protect human health, animals and plants, to safeguard the environment and in particular avoid the pollution of water.

In any proceedings for such an offence, it is a defence for the person charged to have taken all reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence to avoid committing the offence.Under the regulations, it is an offence for any retailer to sell products which have not been approved by Ministers.