Lord Bach has Listened?
In December, an NAAC delegation met Lord Bach, Minister with responsibility for pesticides, and his advisors for a one-to-one discussion which covered our concerns regarding amenity spraying.
In addition to our meeting, we left the Minister with a written report setting out our major concerns. It seems that this has had an impact because, when Lord Bach addressed the Amenity Forum conference this month, he stated that he was fully aware of the important issues in the amenity sector including local authorities deciding on best price not best value, a lack of expertise in procurement and potential environmental damage as a result of mis-use of amenity herbicides, such as diuron.
Furthermore he stated forcefully that whilst he retained his position, he would ensure that this subject is kept a priority. Fine words indeed. The NAAC will now retain the pressure, alongside the Amenity Forum and Voluntary Initiative to try and get a better deal for contractors!