asked Her Majesty's Government:Why they are proposing to remove the restriction on the marketing of seed of a plant variety on a list of another member state corresponding to a British national list (contained in Regulation 31 of the Seeds (National Lists of Varieties) Regulations 1982), even where an application for its entry on a British national list is under consideration or has been refused. [HL773]

This is necessary to implement amendments to Council Directive 70/457/EEC on the common catalogue of plant varieties of agricultural species adopted by the Council of Ministers in December 1998.The effect of the changes is a plant variety may only be marketed if it is on a UK national list or the EC common catalogue.