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

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether honey bees moved from Northern Ireland to the rest of the UK must be destroyed; and if so, why.

It is not the case that honey bees moved from Northern Ireland to other parts of the UK must be destroyed.

EU member states may export bees to Northern Ireland in line with intra-Union trade rules. Queen honey bees can be imported into any part of the UK from Italy and other EU countries but packages and colonies of honey bees can only be imported into Northern Ireland. There is, and will remain, unfettered access for honey bees which qualify as a Northern Ireland good to the rest of the UK market. The basis on which businesses may qualify for unfettered access is clearly set out in legislation passed last year.