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

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the threat presented by Asian hornets to native biodiversity; and what action, if any, they propose to take in response.

A risk assessment was completed for Vespa velutina nigrithorax, the Asian hornet in 2011. The assessment concluded that Asian hornets eat a wide range of insect species including honey bees and that if this species were to become established in the UK, it would have a serious impact on biodiversity. For this reason, Defra and Welsh Government developed an Asian hornet contingency plan which outlines the government response and what actions will be taken when incursions of Asian hornet occur. Contingency action has been taken against all credible sightings of Asian hornet that have been reported in the UK since the first occurred in 2016.