Independent report

UK Expert Committee on Pesticides (ECP): annual report 2024

Updated 16 May 2025

Chair’s foreword

Welcome to the 2024 Annual Report of the UK Expert Committee on Pesticides (ECP). The committee provides independent scientific advice (ISA) to the UK government and the devolved governments (the Scottish Government, Welsh Government and the Northern Ireland Executive) on matters related to the approval, authorisation and use of Plant Protection Products (PPPs).

I am indebted to the previous chair, Professor William Cushley, OBE for leadership of the committee. This included helpful handover and completion of actions. We were all very pleased to congratulate him on his well-earned award of an OBE in the 2024 New Years Honours. This year the committee welcomed Dr Charles Hazlerigg and Dr Cheryl Scudamore, experts in ecotoxicology and toxicology respectively. As always, we remain committed to ensuring the ECP has access to word-leading scientific expertise and knowledge.

We have seen a continuing trend where cases we are asked to consider need more thorough and complex understanding. This year was no different and has seen the committee engage with several interesting and complicated cases. We have included a selection of these to discuss within this report, I would encourage those interested in further information to read our publicly available minutes and advice notes. These along with other relevant information are available on our Gov.uk page.

I acknowledge, and thank them for, the full engagement of members and the excellent support we receive from the secretariat. We are sure you will find this report an interesting and informative summary of the committee and its work. As this report highlights, the membership evolves as terms end, or circumstances change. We would also be pleased to hear from interested candidates so your expertise can be considered when the need arises for new members. If you have any questions about this report or our activities, please contact our secretariat at ecp.crd@hse.gov.uk

Mr J Clarke, Chair, UK Expert Committee on Pesticides

Role of the committee

The ECP is an expert committee providing independent scientific advice to Ministers in the UK and devolved governments on the authorisation of PPPs and on other matters related to the control of pests more broadly. Our Terms of Reference are set out in Annex 1.

A list of our members can be found at Annex 2. Our committee contains a broad range of expertise. Some of us are academics and others work in the industry.  Our expertise includes specialist areas of study relevant to assessing the risks and benefits of pest, weed and disease control. Many of our members can broadly be categorised as experts in environmental sciences or in matters relating to human health and chemical exposure.  Other members are appointed for their practical experience of pesticide use and regulation in the farming and amenity sectors. We also include members appointed to represent wider interests and consider issues from the public perspective. The expertise on the committee is regularly reviewed to ensure it continues to meet the advice needs of the government.

Members are appointed following an open public recruitment. All are appointed as independent individuals, not representing any particular interest or sector. In line with the Nolan principles on public life we have declared any aspects of our work that may be perceived to present a potential conflict of interest. Members also work in accordance with the committee’s code of practice. We declare and describe any potential conflict of interest, both as a general annual declaration and in response to the specific agenda of each meeting.

We seek to operate objectively and transparently, publishing the agendas of our meetings and a detailed record of our discussions. We aim to place information in the public domain by default. However, this is constrained by the need to protect commercially sensitive information. Therefore, in some cases, we are unable to publish all material.

Our work in 2024

Day-to-day regulation of PPPs is carried out by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) on behalf of the four governments. Anyone wishing to market pesticides must obtain an authorisation to do so. Authorisations are granted by HSE provided a robust evaluation of data demonstrates that use of the product will not harm human health or have unacceptable effects on the environment. Legal restrictions may be placed on the way products must be used (for example, the amount applied, timing of application, need for operators to wear protective clothing, avoiding applications close to environmental features, etc) to ensure safety and environmental protection.

The ECP met formally on four occasions and held numerous further interactions with specialist staff in HSE.  In addition to our standard work, we undertake an annual exercise to quality assure the ‘routine’ HSE casework through a structured audit of finalised cases. A sub-group of ECP members were presented with a full list of HSE’s finalised cases and selected roughly 10% of these cases for a detailed review. The random selection also ensured that it included a minimum number of cases where HSE rejected the application.

The sub-group were invited to choose cases from all completed PPP regulatory casework from the 2023/2024 financial year, this covered a broad range of regulatory applications including applications for the approval of new products, applications for the approval of new uses to existing products, the extension of authorisation to include minor uses, amendments to the terms of existing authorisations, renewals of approvals for products and requests for experimental permits. Sub-group members were given full access to all the documentation HSE holds on these cases and were able to request further information or clarification from HSE as required.

The ECP sees a small proportion of HSE’s work on PPPs, generally the more novel and contentious cases, as such we undertake this audit across a range of casework to help provide assurance that HSE considers all applications in a robust and appropriate manner. Our review of the work undertaken in the 2023/2024 financial year concluded that HSE has robust, detailed and appropriate procedures in place to consider applications. We noted two minor recommendations in terms of the use of models and how assessors note comments to improve operational efficiency.

The ECP provides advice to the four governments of the UK based on the scientific evidence and data presented to it. We are asked to address specific questions of science and provide independent scientific advice that will support the effective and safe regulation of PPPs. For both new active substances and emergency authorisation applications, the ECP recognises that the four administrations also obtain advice from a range of sources that may also include economic and public policy perspectives in addition to that of the ECP. To ensure we support the specific needs of the Northern Irish regulatory regime, the ECP has worked closely with Department of Agriculture, Environment Rural Affairs (DAERA) and the Northern Ireland Executive. As part of this work DAERA provide regular briefings to the committee on the developments and issues relating to the Northern Ireland protocol and the Windsor Framework.

The committee’s input into the decision-making process continues to place a significant focus on using our expertise to understand the nature and degree of risk associated with proposed uses, the mitigation of those risks, the state of wider scientific literature and market conditions. This does not constrain us from developing a wider scientific view on these applications including from evidence beyond standardised regulatory testing.

This year we have advised on three applications for the approval, or changes to the conditions of approval, of active substances. These cases are often difficult and complex, requiring a significant amount of ECP time. In all such cases the ECP holds detailed meetings with HSE specialists on each area of science. HSE will seek specific advice on outstanding questions of science, but the ECP can explore any aspects of the risk assessment and underlying guidance they consider to be of importance. We expect most of our work in 2025 to be consideration of active substance applications.

The ECP also considered one application for emergency authorisations under Article 53 of assimilated Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009, this related to the use of ‘Cruiser SB’ (contains thiamethoxam) on sugar beet seeds to protect against beet yellows virus complex, through the control of aphid populations. Based on the evidence presented to ECP, the committee agreed that we supported HSE’s assessment that the requirement to ensure product will be used in a limited and controlled way had not been met.  Our full advice is available as part out of September 2024 minutes.

Other aspects of our work included considering and/or advising on activities related to:

The control of Hylobius abietis and protection of newly planted trees

The large pine weevil (Hylobius abietis) presents a particular threat to newly planted trees in a forestry setting, without pest mitigation losses average at around 50% of newly planted trees. This is a significant challenge to the UK’s forestry industry and as such HSE are considering a range of applications concerning PPPs intended to protect newly planted trees but have specific concerns around risks to soil organisms.

There were several interesting and unusual factors to consider in this case. Exposure would be focused on the base of each individual tree meaning the actual area of exposed soil would be a very small fraction of the total area and after a number of sequential annual treatments there would be an expected gap of decades before further use was required.  This was a situation that risk scenarios struggle to account for and where expert judgement is required, the ECP were able to advise HSE on the latest scientific thinking and provide specific advice on a potential weight of evidence approach.

Higher tier risk assessments

All risk assessments of pesticide products are underpinned by a range of complicated models, these utilise experimental data to model the expected exposure rates and ultimately the impact. Modern risk assessors will rely on a tiered approach to modelling, the most conservative models form a ‘Tier 1’ that is used to initially filter cases to understand where there is clear evidence of acceptable risk and what requires further investigation.  Higher tier models are needed to contextualise and understand the significance of initial findings by placing them in more realistic scenarios to allow decision makers to better understand the expected risk.

In addition to the complex models, regulators have access to tools and methodologies to best understand and predict expected impacts. This is one of the most complicated areas of regulatory science, and one of the most important, as it underpins the decision-making processing. The ECP was asked to advise on the most appropriate approach with respect to the ecotoxicological risk assessment for a product containing pendimethalin and cinmethylin.  We were able to provide HSE with detailed statistical advice and highlight possible future refinements to risk modelling that we feel are worth exploring. Some of our members have specific expertise and experience with the development of analytical methods and modelling, and this remains an area of interest for the committee.

Technical updates

As part of the regulatory system the ECP has an interest in relevant work being carried out by, on behalf of or in collaboration with government.  We are regularly updated on and discuss a range of projects and programmes. This year saw us engage with several technical and policy discussions carried out across government.

This included (under the previous government) engaging with Defra and the devolved governments on work considering potential for regulatory reform, HSE’s various pesticide R&D work, the work of the Expert Committee on Pesticide Residues in Food and developments in OECD and EU technical guidance documents. We have also, through the work of their advisors to the committee, engaged with a range of interesting and useful reports from the Environment Agency, Natural England, The Food Standards Agency and the UK Health Security Agency.

Biopesticide Cloud

This was our first full year of operating the Biopesticide Cloud and proved a useful learning experience for all involved. We established the cloud to bring in a wider range of experts with specific skills that have not traditionally been required in PPP risk assessments. The cloud model has allowed us to bring in crucial expertise and specialist knowledge while adapting to the needs of a developing area of regulatory interest. This year saw the cloud members support on a number of specific regulatory applications being considered by HSE.

We will consider a similar approach for other areas of science and innovation where independent expert advice could help support the development of the regulatory regime.  This is an important part of our work to support innovation and developments across the industry and regulation landscape.

Annex 1: terms of reference

Purpose of the committee

1. The UK Expert committee on Pesticides (the committee) is established to provide independent scientific advice on matters relating to the effective control of pests[1], including advice on approval and authorisation of pesticides[2]. In this work, the committee will take account of the general purposes of Part III of the Food and Environment Protection Act 1985 (FEPA) as set out in Section 16(1) of the Act.

These are:

(a) the continuous development of means:

(i) to protect the health of people, creatures and plants;

(ii) to safeguard the environment; and

(iii) to secure safe, efficient and humane methods of controlling pests;

(b) making information about pesticides available to the public.

2. The committee shall provide advice and views to the ministers listed below on any matter within its remit, either in response to a request or at the committee’s initiative. The committee will normally provide its advice to the Assessors (provided for in paragraph 14 below) but may provide advice directly to all or any of the following ministers (referred to collectively in this document as ‘the ministers’): the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Scottish ministers, Welsh ministers and the Minister for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland.

3. The committee will be consulted on regulations relating to the general purposes of Part III of FEPA and falling within its remit which any or all of the ministers contemplate making.

Role of the committee

4. The lead Defra minister will set the terms of reference for the committee with the consent of the ministers. Any proposal to vary these terms of reference or abolish the committee would also be subject to agreement by all the ministers. In all these cases the committee itself will be consulted; the ministers will ultimately set the terms of reference of the committee, while the committee will determine its ways of working, adhering to the requirements in these terms of reference and code of practice.

5. The ministers may receive: strategic work plans for particular areas of on-going work; reports and advice; and periodic reviews of the committee’s functions, public benefits and value for money.

6. The committee will, as appropriate, and within its remit:

• contribute to developing the evidence base, analysing and interpreting evidence and providing judgements on quality and relevance

• support policy development and evaluation, including by undertaking risk assessment and assessing new regulations and proposals for deregulation

• advise on the scope for specific projects and research

• contribute to best practice advice and formal guidance

• provide independent scientific advice on applications for the approval of new active substances and active substance renewals

• provide independent scientific advice on setting maximum residue levels (MRLs), as part of, or separate to advice provided on applications for approval of active substances

• provide suggestions on optimising the committee’s role as part of the process for the approval of active substances, the setting of MRLs and the authorisation of products

• produce an annual report of all work undertaken and contribute, if required, to Defra’s chief scientist’s annual report

• provide advice on any other issue as requested by HSE, Defra or the devolved governments relating to the use of pesticides, and prioritising these requests against existing work schedules

• help the response to emergency situations by providing expert advice and opinion

7. The committee will provide independent advice and operate in line with the principles of scientific advice to government and the code of practice for scientific advisory committees.

8. The committee will make its scientific advice and views available to the public and other interested parties in a way which aims to be comprehensive, clear and timely. The committee will decide its own publication schedule.

9. Defra’s chief scientific adviser (CSA) will maintain an oversight of the work of the committee and will meet regularly with its Chair.

Appointments and conduct of members

10. The Chair and the members of the committee are independent appointments made through open competition, in line with the Governance Code on Public Appointments.

Appointments are made by the senior responsible owner within Defra in agreement with:

• Department of Work and Pensions (DWP)

• Department of Health and Social Care

• Food Standards Agency (FSA)

• Department of Agriculture

• Environment and Rural Affairs for Northern Ireland

• Scottish Government

• Welsh Government

These bodies will also agree the plans for each recruitment exercise.

11. Members are expected to act in accordance with the seven ‘Nolan’ principles of public life.

Working groups and additional expertise

12. Subject to the availability of funds, the committee may:

• establish groups to support aspects of its work

• bring in additional expertise (from the UK or abroad) to advise on specific issues

Advisers

13. Advisers are officials, from any of the administrations, with specialist expertise who can advise the committee. At the time of preparation of these terms of reference, advisers are drawn from Defra, the Environment Agency, the FSA, HSE, Public Health England and Natural England (and equivalent devolved government bodies). Any future additions to this list will be arranged by agreement between the committee and the relevant department or body. Advisers shall receive the meeting documents at the same time as committee members and have the right to attend committee meetings. They will contribute to discussions when invited to do so.

Assessors

14. Each of the following appoints one of their officials as an assessor:

• Defra

• Department of Work and Pensions

• Department of Health and Social Care

• FSA

• Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs for Northern Ireland

• Scottish Government

• Welsh Government

Assessors receive and respond to the advice and views supplied by the committee to their ministers. Where appropriate they are responsible for seeking the views of their minister on the advice from the committee. Assessors shall receive the meeting documents at the same time as committee members and have the right to attend ECP meetings. They will contribute to discussions when invited to do so.

Annex 2: Expert Committee on Pesticides members’ biographies and declarations of interests

(As of 31 December 2024)

Chair

Mr James Clarke

Mr James Clarke is Research Director at ADAS. He specialises in sustainable crop production (including soil health and management, IPM (Integrated Pest Management), crop nutrition and performance) and the impacts of arable farming on the environment. James is an Associate of Royal Agricultural Societies (ARAgS). Fellowship of the Association of Applied Biologists (F App. Biol.). As Chair of the Pesticides Forum, he led the indicators sub-group delivering annual reports on the usage, environmental and human impacts of sustainable pesticide use. He was a member of the Advisory Committee on Pesticides (ACP). He is Chair of UK Weed Resistance Action Group steering committee. He was appointed Chair from 2024 and his current appointment is until 31 December 2026.

Non-Personal interests:

• as ADAS Research Director, James is not directly involved in managing a business unit and no longer has any regular direct involvement with industry-funded work that may impact on his role within the ECP.

• ADAS carries out work for crop protection companies, Defra and other Government and levy bodies (e.g. AHDB) in respect to crop protection.

• ADAS is officially recognised as an efficacy testing organisation in the UK, and carries out work to this effect.

Deputy chairs

Professor Michael Eddleston

Professor Michael Eddleston is a clinical toxicologist working for the University of Edinburgh, Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, and UK’s National Poisons Information Service (NPIS). His research interests are in the human consequences and treatment of acute exposures to pesticides, both in the UK and globally, particularly in South Asia. He medically treats patients with poisoning, including those affected by exposure to pesticides. He sits as a WHO Expert on the FAO/WHO Joint Meeting on Pesticide Management (JMPM). Michael was appointed to the ECP in 2021, his current term of appointment is until 31 December 2027.

Personal interests

• Employed as a Consultant Physician at the National Poisons Information Service – Edinburgh Unit and Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh

Members

Prof. James Coulson

Prof. James Coulson is a Professor in Clinical Pharmacology, Therapeutics & Toxicology at Cardiff University and an honorary consultant physician at Cardiff & Vale University Health Board. Professor Coulson is the Clinical Director of the All Wales Therapeutics & Toxicology Centre and Chair of the New Medicines Group, an independent scientific advisory committee to the All Wales Medicines Strategy group.

He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of London, a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, Edinburgh, and is a Fellow of the British Pharmacology Society and the Royal Society of Biology.  He provides expertise in clinical pharmacology and toxicology at an international level in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) and European Community (EC). Since 2014, Highlights include supporting the EC response to the challenges of novel psychoactive substances; written the clinical chapters of the WHO field manual on the Investigation of Chemical Outbreaks; provided clinical leadership of a field investigation to a suspected mass poisoning in Uganda, 2019; supported WHO training missions to Ghana (2017) and Mongolia (2018) and contributed to the WHO Poisons Centre Manual.

Professor Coulson serves as a member of the UK Committee on Toxicity. He advises on ad hoc toxicological issues to the UK Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency. Professor Coulson acted as an editor and contributor to enable the Joint Royal Colleges Ambulance Liaison Committee publication on toxicology for paramedics and ambulance staff. He also provided toxicological expertise to the BBC World Service and, since 2018, advised on the BBC’s “Casualty” and “Holby City” drama series. James was appointed to the ECP in 2023, his current term of appointment is until 31 December 2026.

No interests declared.

Dr James Garratt

Dr James Garratt is a Principal Consultant at Enviresearch, part of the RSK group. He is a scientist with a special interest and passion for the assessment of the risks of chemicals to the environment. He has been working with environmental models since 1996. His work has included many assessments of chemical fate for commercial clients, in particular where advanced (or higher-tier) assessments are required. He has also contributed to the advancement of science through his work on risk assessment in greenhouses; the MERLIN-Expo modelling tool; and sensitivity analysis in drainflow modelling. He is a member of the Institute of Professional Soil Scientists (IPSS) and the Society for Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC). He is a Chartered Scientist and a regular reviewer of academic papers for research journals. James was appointed to the ECP in 2019, his current term of appointment is until 31 December 2025.

Personal interests:

• employed by Enviresearch as a consultant on pesticide risk assessments. Enviresearch provides scientific consulting services to a range of chemical companies in support of product approvals including for pesticides.

• formerly Managing Director of, and shareholder, in Enviresearch

• member of the Agrisciences Committee of the Society of Chemical Industry, which organises events that may be sponsored by companies in the pesticide (or other chemicals) industry.

• shareholder in RSK

Mr Martin Glynn

Mr Martin Glynn is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Foresters and a Chartered Environmentalist. He is a graduate of the University College of North Wales (Bangor) and the Open University. As a self-employed consultant, he works with clients in the public, private and third sectors providing advice and support regarding business, market and workforce development in the forestry industry. Martin is a Council Member of the Institute of Chartered Foresters, a member of the England Forest and Wood-based Industry Leadership Group, he is a Trustee of the Forest Industries Education Fund and was formerly a Non-Executive Director of the National Forest Company. Martin was appointed to the ECP in 2019, his current term of appointment is until 31 December 2025.

No interests declared.

Dr Caroline Harris

Dr Caroline Harris is a Principal scientist at Exponent International. She previously worked as an analytical chemist for MAFF and as a regulator (latterly Head of Human Health) at the Chemicals Regulations Directorate. She continues to be involved with MRLs, import tolerances and pesticide residues in international trade. She also remains highly active in the field of consumer risk assessment. Caroline is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and is also a member of the UK’s Committee on Carcinogenicity and was formerly a member of the Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment (COT). Formerly a member of the ACP, she was appointed to the ECP in 2020 and her current term of appointment is until 31 December 2026.

Current personal interests:

• employer is a scientific consultancy which undertakes work for a range of chemical companies in support of product approvals.

• share holder of Exponent Inc.

Dr Charles Hazlerigg

Charles is a Senior Ecotoxicologist at Enviresearch performing prospective environmental risk assessments of chemical products and seeking to find mitigation solutions where there is environmental concern. He is also a UKRI funded Future Leaders Fellow focussing his research on the use of ecological modelling to better understand the potential effects of chemicals on whole populations. He is a member of the Society for Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) and is currently co-organising the SETAC workshops on the use of Models for Assessing Population relevance of Endocrine Disrupting effects (MAPPED). He was appointed to ECP in 2024. His current term of appointment is until 31 December 2027.

Personal interests

• employed by Enviresearch (RSK) to perform consultancy services for the chemical sector. This includes providing support to a range of chemical companies and regulatory authorities.

• a Future Leaders Fellowship Award holder from UKRI. An employee of Syngenta is named as a project partner on the project providing in-kind (time) support.

• member of the organising committee for the SETAC MAPPED workshops. These workshops were partially funded by companies in the chemical sector.

Dr Ioanna Katsiadaki

Dr Ioanna Katsiadaki is a Principal Scientific Officer and the Science Leader for The Cefas Weymouth Laboratory. She is also an honorary associated professor at the University of Exeter. Dr Katsiadaki has been conducting active research and providing advice related to the effects of contaminants on aquatic organisms to government departments as well as international organisations like OECD, ECHA and SETAC for over 25 years. She is a UK representative in the Fish Expert Group that advises the OECD Validation Management Group in Ecotoxicology (VMG-Eco) and one of the four core theme leaders of the UK-Japan cooperation on endocrine disrupting chemicals. As a direct result of her work, an OECD test guideline (TG234; the Fish Sexual Development Test) and an OECD Guidance document (the Androgenised Female Stickleback Screen, AFSS, No. 148) became part of an international test guideline programme for the detection of Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs) in 2011. Dr Katsiadaki is an advocate of ‘one health’ and has a passion for protecting aquatic life, especially marine from hazardous chemicals and her recent research is focusing on the development of alternative methods She was appointed to the ECP in 2022, her current term of appointment is until 31 December 2025.

No interests declared.

Dr Ruth Mann

Dr Ruth Mann is Head of Integrated Crop Technologies at Agrii. Her broad research background is integrated disease management in agricultural and horticultural crops, sports surfaces and amenity areas. Ruth is also interested in how enabling technologies can progress crop production, especially within decision support systems and precision management. Ruth is also an approved trainer for BASIS Amenity Horticulture. Ruth was appointed to the ECP in 2017, her current term of appointment expires in 31 December 2025

Non-personal interests

• Agrii completes multiple trials for the pesticide industry and is officially recognised as an efficacy testing organisation in the UK. Ruth is responsible for the teams completing this work. Agrii also provide consultancy services and products, including advice on pesticides and distribution of pesticides to the agricultural and horticultural industries

• formerly employed at STRI which completes multiple trials for the pesticide industry internationally and is officially recognised as an efficacy testing organisation in the UK. She is responsible for the teams completing this work. STRI also provides consultancy services, including advice on pesticides to the sports turf industry.

Dr Martin Rose

Dr Martin Rose has worked for over 30 years as a government scientist with Fera (previously CSL, Defra, MAFF) with a focus on the application of analytical chemistry to studies on dietary exposure, toxicology, environmental pathways, environmental monitoring, food authenticity, ecotoxicology, risk assessment and contingency responses for environmental contaminants in food. He is a former head of UK National Reference Laboratory for chemical contaminants in food. Martin is a former member of the EFSA CONTAM and ANS Panels and is currently a member of several EFSA working groups. He is a member of the UK Government Scientific Advisory Committee Expert Group on Additives, Enzymes and other Regulated Products (part of Committee on Toxicity), a member of the FAPAS® advisory committee and a member of the all-Ireland safefood advisory committee. Since 2017, Martin has been working as an independent science consultant for organisations including Fera Science Ltd., the Universities of Manchester and Liverpool, United Nations (FAO and ITC) on publicly funded research projects, risk assessment activities, research project monitoring and evaluation, and supporting activities to implement food control systems in less developed countries. Martin has published widely, is an editorial board member for several journals and has supported the organisation of several international science conferences. Martin is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry where he is a Member of the Environment, Sustainability and Energy Division (ESED) Council and a committee member of the Food and Toxicology Interest Groups. Martin was appointed to the ECP in 2020, his current term of appointment is until 31 December 2026.

No interests declared.

Dr Anna Rowbotham

Dr Anna Rowbotham is a senior managing scientist with Exponent with nearly 30 years of experience in toxicology and human health risk assessment. Anna has held senior roles across the regulatory sector with experience in the plant protection products, biocides and REACH regulatory regimes. Her previous research includes work on population and probabilistic physiologically based pharmacokinetic models and on neurotoxicology. She is a member of the British Toxicology Society. Anna was appointed to the ECP in 2023, her current term of appointment is until 31 December 2026.

Personal interests

• employer is a scientific consultancy which undertakes work for a range of chemical companies in support of product approvals.

Mr Patrick Stephenson

Mr Patrick Stephenson heads up an agronomy partnership acting as a senior consultant to 100 farm clients covering 18,000 ha. He also serves as a Regional Agronomist with the National Institute of Agricultural Botany assisting with farm research and knowledge transfer. He has served as Chairman of the Association of independent Crop Consultants, an organisation with over 270 members operating throughout the United Kingdom. He sits on the ADHB Cereals and Oil Seed Council and is Chair of the Recommended Wheat List. Patrick was appointed to the ECP in 2021, his current term of appointment is until 31 December 2027.

No interests declared.

Professor David Spurgeon

Prof. David Spurgeon is an experienced ecotoxicological researcher who has worked on assessing the effects of anthropogenic stressors and pollution on soil communities for over 25 years. Following a PhD studentship and post-doc at Reading University (1991-1997) and NERC Advanced Fellowship at the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (1998-2003), he has worked at the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (Monks Wood/Wallingford) on research projects to understand the responses of soil communities to pollutants. He has published >170+ ISI researcher papers on topics in this area. He is a visiting Professor at Reading University. He was appointed to ECP for 2020, his current term of appointment is until 31 December 2025.

Personal interests

CEH is involved in work with BASF material scientists in CEFIC LRI project Eco-59.

Professor Matthew Wright

Matthew Wright is Professor of Toxicology (Emeritus) at Newcastle University. His research interests and expertise are around xenobiotic metabolism, liver injury and liver responses to chronic injury. He has a long running interest in the development of in vitro systems for the study of toxicity mechanisms and allied NAMs. Matthew was appointed to the ECP in 2021, his current term of appointment is until 31 December 2027.

Personal interests

• involved in a contract study of in vitro metabolism of three Lubrizol products 

from April 2019 to May 2020.

• Chief Editor for Food and Chemical Toxicology (Jan 2025 - present).

• member of various EFSA FAF Panel working groups.

Professor Mick Whelan

Prof. Mick Whelan is an environmental scientist at the University of Leicester specialising in the fate of organic chemicals, such as pesticides and pharmaceutical ingredients, and the transfer of nitrogen and phosphorus from agricultural land to surface waters. He has a PhD in applied hydrology from Leeds and did post-doctoral research in Exeter and Milan. Before joining the University of Leicester, he held academic posts at Stirling and Cranfield Universities, complemented by five years working in environmental modelling for Unilever. He has recently worked on and led a number of NERC, Defra, Environment Agency and industry-funded projects to better understand pollutant fate and transport. Mick was appointed to the ECP in 2018, his current term of appointment is until 31 December 2025.

No interests declared.

Biopesticide Cloud Members

Professor Tariq Butt

Prof. Tariq Butt is a professor at Swansea University and leads the Biocontrol and Natural Products (BANP) group at Swansea University.  The group focuses on developing environmentally friendly products and strategies for the management of invertebrate pests of socio-economic importance. Tariq has a special interest in microbial biopesticides, especially entomopathogenic fungi (EPF). He has over 40 years’ experience working with EPF. He undertakes both fundamental and applied research, covering virtually all aspects of EPF biology and ecology.  He has worked with industry in the development of EPF for the control of crop pests and with regulatory authorities on matters related to the risk assessment of EPF.  Besides EPF, Tariq is interested in insect behaviour modifying chemicals and has developed insect attractants and repellents for both monitoring purposes but also for use in integrated pest management programmes. Tariq was appointed to the ECP in 2023, his current term of appointment is until December 2026.

Personal interests

The Biocontrol and Natural Products group of Swansea University has been involved with research projects sponsored by government departments, including but not limited to Defra, the Scottish Government and Welsh Government.

Dr Irene Cano Cejas

Dr Irene Cano Cejas is an expert Immunologist and Virologist working as an at The Cefas Weymouth Laboratory on aquatic animal health and food security. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Irene joined the antiviral task force at UKHSA for compound testing against VoC of SARS-CoV-2 collaborating with NHS and international pharmaceuticals. Her interests are understanding host-pathogen interaction, characterising emerging diseases, point-of-care diagnostics, vaccine efficiency in aquaculture, and testing novel treatments to control disease outbreaks, including biohazard level 3 (BSL-3) pathogens. Recently, Irene has joined a large EU consortium to understand chemical immunotoxicology in aquatic organisms to develop next-generation risk assessment to protect health and the environment. Her research has played an essential role in influencing surveillance strategies in the UK for aquatic pathogens, setting the standards for data assurance of sequencing animal viruses, developing novel diagnostic tools for aquaculture pathogens, understanding the molecular basis of rhabdovirus virulence in salmonids, and analysing fish macrophage polarisation in response to pathogen and chemicals. Irene was appointed to the ECP in 2023, her current term of appointment is until December 2026.

No interests declared.

Dr Dave Chandler

Dr Dave Chandler is an Associate Professor (Reader) at the School of Life Sciences, University of Warwick. He is based at the Warwick Crop Centre, Wellesbourne. He is an entomologist and insect pathologist.

He conducts research on:

(i) the biology, development and use of insect pathogens as plant protection agents

(ii) Integrated Pest Management in horticultural crops

(iii) biological pollination by social and solitary bees

(iv) the use of system engineering technologies to improve crop production and crop protection.

He has been at Wellesbourne for over 30 years and prior to that did his PhD in mycology at Kings College London. He has been an adviser to the European Parliament on the sustainable use of pesticides and has acted as a research programme reviewer for the US Department of Agriculture.

Personal interests

The Warwick Crop Centre (University of Warwick) is a registered trial site which undertakes commercial and levy-funded projects. David has been involved in specific work in this context that has involved payment to the university.

Dr Roma Gwynn

Dr Roma Gwynn is an independent specialist with nearly 40 years of experience in crop protection. She has significant experience of working with industry and regulators globally to facilitate the development and registration of new and novel biotechnologies. She was Vice-President of the International Biocontrol Manufacturers Association (IBMA) from 2018 to 2023, and an editor of the BCPC Mannual of Biocontrol agents (2014). Roma has been involved with research projects with the OECD Expert Group on Biopesticides, the EU Commission, FAO/WHO and some national regulators in Africa.  Alongside her work with the ECP she is an invited expert for the NIBIO Norway SMARTCROP Project, Danish Plant Biologicals Network and undertakes work for the UK grower funded SCEPTRE project evaluating biocontrol technologies for use in IPM for horticulture growers. Roma was appointed to the ECP in 2023, her current term of appointment is until December 2026.

Personal interests

Biorationale provide consulting services and expert services to streamline the discovery, product development, registration and marketing of biotechnical products in Australasia, Europe, North America and Africa.

Roma has provided advice and technical support to regulators, including the WHO/FAO, EU member states, the USA and other national regulators.

Dr Maureen Wakefield

Dr Maureen Wakefield is the lead scientist for applied entomology at Fera Science Ltd, with over 35 years of experience in the field. Her interests include chemical ecology, the use of biological control agents such a parasitoids, predators and entomopathogenic fungi. Maureen is a member of the Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes, editor of the Journal of Stored Product Research, a Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society and a Chartered Biologist. Maureen was appointed to the ECP in 2023, her current term of appointment is until December 2026.

Personal Interests

Maureen is employed by Fera Science Ltd, who provide scientific testing and regulatory consultancy work for a range of clients including government departments and industry bodies.

Annex 3: fees and reimbursement

Members of the ECP are not salaried staff but do receive a fee for attendance at meetings. They are not paid if they do not attend meetings, although they receive a preparation fee if they comment in writing.

Chair’s fees

Attendance fee: £400

Preparation fee: £150

Deputy Chair and members’ fees

Attendance fee: £300

Preparation fee: £150

The Chair and members also receive reimbursement of reasonable actual travel and subsistence when attending meetings.

For the 2024/2025 financial year the estimated cost of running the Committee is £82,000. This covers the cost of members’ fees related to committee work, legitimate expenses, and recruitment campaigns. This is an increase on the five-year average of £65,000 reflecting a higher-than-average number of hybrid meetings and an increased membership.

The ECP is assisted in the committee by the following officials:

Departmental assessors (as of 31 December 2024)

Departmental assessors are officials who receive and respond to the advice/ recommendations supplied by the committee to ministers on behalf of their department. Where appropriate they are responsible for seeking the views of their minister on the advice from the ECP.

They consist of:

• Mr David Williams (Defra)

• Ms Ann Faulkner (HSE)

• Ms Gillian Reay (Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture (SASA), representing the Scottish Government)

• Mr Thomas Horgan (FSA)

• Mr Bill MacDonald (Welsh Government)

• Mr Archie Murchie (Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute Northern Ireland (AFBINI), representing Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs)

Departmental advisors (as of 31 December 2024)

Departmental advisors are officials with specialist expertise who can advise the ECP.

They consist of:

• Mr Richard Daniels (HSE)

• Mr Matt Penrose (HSE)

• Ms Nneoma June Katia Chukwubike (UK Health Security Agency - UKHSA)

• Dr Suzanne Qassim Natural England

• Dr Jonathan Newman Environment Agency

• Ms Rebecca Leete (Defra)

• Ms Sarah Hugo (Defra)

• Mr Adrian Dixon (HSE)

• Mr Barry Maycock (FSA)

• Ms Margaret Wade (HSE)

• Dr Chris Snaith (HSE)

• Mr John Dale (HSE)

• Dr Susy Brescia (HSE)

• Dr James Hingston (HSE)

• Ms Catherine Wesley (HSE)

• Ms Sue Mattock (HSE)

The ECP Secretariat is provided by HSE and as of 31 December 2024 consists of:

• Secretary – Rachel Merrick

• Secretariat Member – Ethan Clabby

• Secretariat Member – Lesley Debenham

ECP Secretariat

Ground Floor

Mallard House

Kings Pool

York YO1 7PX

Email: ecp.crd@hse.gov.uk

[1] ‘pest’ means: any organism harmful to plants or to wood or other plant products, any undesired plant, and any harmful organism. This definition is not intended to place a strict limit on the committee’s remit.

[2] ‘pesticide’ means any substance, preparation or organism prepared or used for destroying or controlling any pest. It includes everything within the scope of the current and retained Regulation (EC) No. 1107/2009 concerning the placing of plant protection products on the market. This definition is not intended to place a strict limit on the committee’s remit.