Pesticides: Neonicotinoids

Baroness Parminter Excerpts

Wednesday 17th June 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord Gardiner of Kimble]

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord for his typically generous remarks. An application is being considered by the Health and Safety Executive and the independent UK Expert Committee on Pesticides. It will then be for those opinions to come before Ministers.

[Baroness Parminter (LD)]

My Lords, the recent Swedish field trial on rape seed treated with neonicotinoids showed a decline in both wild bees and bumblebee colonies. Does the Minister agree with the Government’s own Chief Scientific Adviser, who on 14 May called the trial,

“an important contribution to the evidence base”,

against neonicotinoids?

[Lord Gardiner of Kimble]

My Lords, as I hope I have impressed upon your Lordships, the decisions made here and in Europe need to be made on the best scientific assessment of risk. Only last November we published the National Pollinator Strategy, which is precisely designed to improve the situation for our 1,500 pollinating insect species. These pollinators are absolutely vital to our food production.