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

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the use of all pesticides in the UK is not detrimental to bees.

Decisions on whether to authorise the use of individual pesticides always take account of environmental risks, including the potential for harm to bees.

In 2021, the Government consulted on the draft National Action Plan for the sustainable use of pesticides which sets out the ambition to minimise the risks and impacts of pesticides to human health and the environment. The draft NAP aims to increase uptake of Integrated Pest Management and sustainable crop protection. Integrated Pest Management emphasises crop health with the least possible disruption to agro-ecosystems and encourages natural pest control mechanisms, therefore playing a critical role in supporting and enhancing biodiversity, whilst improving soil heath and water quality. The final NAP is due to be published in spring 2022.

We have funded research into the exposure of honeybees to pesticides, both over time and at national scale, through chemical analysis of pesticide residues found in honey samples. Using genetic techniques, such as DNA metabarcoding, this research can assess the plants foraged by exposed bees and highlight common pesticide exposure routes for this key pollinator species. We expect the results of this work to be published in the coming months.