Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will set targets to end the use of hazardous pesticides and protect pollinators.

Pollinators are a priority for this Government. The National Pollinator Strategy Action Plan was published in May 2022, which sets out how we are restoring and creating habitat to help pollinators thrive, and addressing pressures on their populations. Our Healthy Bees Plan 2030 outlines our work to improve honeybee health, and we are supporting monitoring and research through the Pollinator Monitoring Scheme.

A pesticide may only be placed on the market in Great Britain if the product has been authorised by our expert regulator, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), following a thorough scientific risk assessment, that concludes all safety standards are met. Pesticides that pose unacceptable risks are not authorised.

We are assessing the potential role of targets to support our policy ambitions, and further details will be outlined in our National Action Plan for the Sustainable Use of Pesticides (NAP), to be published in the first half of this year.