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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of declining bee and pollinator populations on UK food production; and what steps he plans to take to promote pollinator-friendly farming practices.

This Government is committed to restoring and protecting nature. We are committed to halting the decline in species abundance by 2030 and reversing species decline, reducing the risk of species extinction and restoring and creating more than 500,000 hectares of wildlife-rich habitat by 2042.

For our pollinator species we are considering lessons learned from the recently completed review of our Pollinator Action Plan (PAP), which set out plans to fulfil the vision, aims and objectives of the National Pollinator Strategy over the last three-year period from 2021-24.

Figures from the annual UK Hive Count suggest that honey bee numbers are stable.

Healthy soils that are rich in nutrients and organic matter, abundant pollinators and clean water are essential for sustainable food production. We will provide farmers and land managers with the support they need to help restore nature, which is vital to safeguard our long-term food security, support productivity and build resilience to climate change.