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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential effect on maintenance of the bee population in the UK of proposals for a sugar tax.

We are grateful to Henry Dimbleby and his team for their work on the independent review examining our food system and the vital role it plays in all our lives, which included their proposal for sugar and salt reformulation tax. The proposals put forward in the review are independent of Government. We will be developing a food strategy White Paper within the next six months setting out our own ambitions and priorities for a food system that delivers healthy and affordable food for all people.

Sugar is sometimes purchased by beekeepers in order to feed their bees and as was the case following the first report from this independent review, we will continue to work collaboratively across Government to evaluate the impacts of each recommendation made by the review.

The overall size of the honey bee population is dependent to a large extent on the number of individuals who wish to keep bees. Under the Healthy Bees Plan 2030, Defra works in partnership with beekeeping stakeholders on a range of measures to maintain a healthy honey bee population in England and Wales. For example, UK beekeepers benefit from an extensive programme of apiary inspections and bee health training and advice provided by the National Bee Unit.

We need to ensure that our food systems are sustainable and resilient systems which deliver for people, nature and climate, to support our exceptional British food and drink producers, protect and enhance the nation's health and the natural environment for generations to come. The Government’s food strategy White Paper will set out how we will achieve that.