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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help tackle bee harm.

Bee health is a devolved matter, and the information provided therefore relates to England only.

Harm to honeybees can be caused by several different means including pests and diseases, invasive non-native species and poor husbandry practices by beekeepers. Defra supports a range of actions to help tackle harm.

The Animal and Plant Health Agency’s National Bee Unit (NBU) deliver the Defra Bee Health Programme which includes management and control of honeybee pests and diseases. The NBU also provide free training and advice to beekeepers, including on pest and disease recognition. Defra works in partnership with beekeeping stakeholders under the Healthy Bees Plan 2030 to improve honeybee health and husbandry.

Yellow-legged hornet (YLH), an invasive non-native species is a threat to pollinating insects including honeybees. There are established populations of these hornets in Europe and since 2016 there have been regular incursions into GB. Defra takes action against confirmed findings of YLH to prevent this species from becoming established.

The Government is committed to ending the use of those neonicotinoid pesticides that are known to carry substantial risks to pollinator populations. The recent Defra policy statement, released on 21 December, sets out plans to take forward that commitment.