Bees: Conservation

(asked on 21st May 2020) - View Source

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

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, following World Bee Day on 20 May, to raise awareness of the (1) importance of bees in the survival of ecosystems, and (2) role they play in the process of pollination; and what impact the COVID-19 pandemic is having on the beekeeping sector.


This question was answered on 4th June 2020

Awareness raising

This is a devolved matter and the information provided relates to England only. Protecting pollinators is a priority for the Government. Pollinators are an essential part of our environment and play a crucial role in food production through pollination. The Government supports two major events to raise awareness of the importance of bees and other pollinators and to encourage people to take action.

Firstly, there is our ‘Bees’ Needs’ campaign, which we run with our many partners to raise awareness of the steps we can all take to protect pollinators. Under current circumstances, we shall celebrate Bees’ Needs Week online this year, from 13 to 19 July. We encourage everyone across the country to get involved, to share their own stories and to find out more about the importance of pollinators and how they can support them.

Defra also organises, in partnership with the Green Flag Awards, Championing the Farmed Environment and the Bee Farmers’ Association, an annual Bees’ Needs Champions Awards to recognise and celebrate examples of exemplary initiatives undertaken by schools, local authorities, community groups, farmers and businesses to support pollinators.

Our awareness-raising work is a key objective of the National Pollinator Strategy, a ten-year plan which sets out how the Government, conservation groups, farmers, beekeepers and researchers can work together to improve the status of pollinating insects in England.

Beekeeping sector

Honey bee hives in the UK are managed by hobbyist beekeepers and bee farmers. Guidance with respect to beekeeping in relation to COVID-19 was published on the National Bee Unit’s BeeBase website in March. The guidance highlighted the importance of beekeepers acting responsibly and ensuring that they continued good beekeeping practices, effective stock management and health checks while respecting Government guidance on social distancing. Some beekeepers rely on being able to import queens and current indications are that COVID-19 does not appear to have had a significant impact on imports.

Training courses and beekeeping events provided by the Government and beekeeping groups have been cancelled. It is difficult to mitigate the effects of this but we are making efforts to develop additional online resources available to beekeepers. Our inspectors are able to continue their vital work of inspecting apiaries to target bee pests and diseases. Social distancing can be maintained as inspectors work outdoors and do not have to be in close proximity to the beekeeper.

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