To ask Her Majesty's Government what effect Regulation 12(2A) of the Seeds (National List of Varieties) (Amendment) Regulations (SI 2009/1273) will have on the national collection of seeds and produce grown from seed. [HL5250]

We do not envisage Regulation 12 (2A) affecting any collections of seeds and produce grown from seed. The Seeds (National Lists of Varieties) (Amendment) Regulations 2009 allow varieties of agricultural plant species threatened by genetic erosion to be national-listed in a less prescriptive way to facilitate their marketing. Such varieties will be identified as “conservation varieties” in the national list.

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether Regulation 12(2A) of the Seeds (National List of Varieties) (Amendment) Regulations (SI 2009/1273) will mean that companies offering seeds and plants through a catalogue will only be allowed to offer varieties appearing on the National List of (a) the United Kingdom, (b) any other European country, or (c) any country outside the European Union, if they have been propagated in the region of origin. [HL5251]

Regulation 12(2A) of the Seeds (National List of Varieties) (Amendment) Regulations relates specifically to conservation varieties of agricultural plant species on the UK National List. Seeds of such varieties may be produced and marketed only within their prescribed regions of origin. In most cases, the region of origin will be the UK although regions may be drawn more tightly—for example, England and Wales—to maintain genetic integrity. Seed of conservation varieties listed elsewhere in the EU or in third countries would not be eligible for sale in the UK since this would be outside the regions of origin determined under the Seeds (National List of Varieties) (Amendment) Regulations (SI 2009/1273).