Summary
Action taken following receipt of a complaint alleging that Defra failed to comply with the law when granting emergency authorisation for the use of ‘Cruiser SB’ pesticide in 2023.
Outcomes and additional information
Our assessment concluded that whilst the specific legal grounds raised in the complaint with regards to the decision-making process did not indicate a failure to comply with the law, there were concerns around the accessibility of information about emergency authorisations and statements of reasons on the UK pesticide authorisation database.
Defra has acknowledged this and has informed us it is intended that the databases will be further developed as part of the Health and Safety Executive’s Biocides and Pesticides Transformation Programme.