Mentions:
1: Duncan Baker (Con - North Norfolk) for a limited period and for a non-flowering plant in its first year, so pollinators will not be at - Speech Link
2: Luke Pollard (LAB - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport) There are strong supporters of bees and pollinators in all parties, and she set out clearly that there - Speech Link
3: Luke Pollard (LAB - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport) insects, for pollinators and for nature.I have listened intently over many years—from when I sat on the - Speech Link
4: Luke Pollard (LAB - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport) understood.It is incumbent on all of us who campaign on bees, and who love bees, to make sure that our - Speech Link
Mentions:
1: Gougeon, Mairi (SNP - Angus North and Mearns) bees in Scotland for pollination and honey production. - Speech Link
2: McNeill, Pauline (Lab - Glasgow) Many pesticides are known to harm bees and other pollinators. - Speech Link
3: Gougeon, Mairi (SNP - Angus North and Mearns) are native, as honey bees are in Scotland—could have a detrimental effect on wild pollinators in fragile - Speech Link
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what action they are taking to support the bee population.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Recovering nature is a priority for this Government, which is why we have set legally binding targets to halt and then reverse the decline in species abundance, reduce the risk of species extinction and restore or create more than 500,000 hectares of wildlife-rich habitats. Action under the Environmental Improvement Plan to deliver our biodiversity targets will address key pressures impacting pollinators including habitat loss, fragmentation and degradation, use of some pesticides, climate change and land use intensification.
Our 2014 National Pollinator Strategy sets out a 10-year plan to help pollinators survive and thrive. It delivers action across four themes: strengthening evidence; restoring habitats and species; sustaining pollinator health; and engaging wider society. A Defra-led working group is considering future priorities for pollinators beyond 2024.
Agri-environment schemes are a key mechanism for recovering bees and other pollinators, in particular through the ‘Wild Pollinator and Farm Wildlife Package’. Between 2014 and 2019, an estimated 30,000ha of bee-friendly habitat was delivered through this scheme.
We have also collaborated with research institutes and volunteer organisations to set up the Pollinator Monitoring and Research Partnership to improve our understanding of pollinators and pollination services, and raised the profile of pollinators through our annual Bees’ Needs Week, which raises awareness of key actions we can all take to protect pollinators. Bees’ Needs Week 2024 will run from 8-14 July.
Defra supports the honey bee population specifically through the work of the National Bee Unit inspectorate, which operates our bee pest surveillance programmes and provides free training and advice to beekeepers, including on pest and disease recognition. While bee health is a devolved matter, Defra and the Welsh Government work together on bee health and, in 2020, we jointly published the Healthy Bees Plan 2030 (copy attached).
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effect of the spread of Asian hornets on the welfare of (1) honey bees, and (2) other insect populations, in England; and what action they are taking to prevent the further spread of this invasive species.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government recognises the essential role played by honey bees and wild pollinators in our environment, acknowledging their contribution to crop pollination. Additionally, pollinators play a vital role in supporting the natural ecosystem.
Asian hornets prey on honey bees and other pollinators so pose a significant threat to these insects. To date rapid action has been taken in the UK to find and destroy Asian hornet nests.
In 2023 a total of 72 nests were located and destroyed, the majority of these were located in the South-East (62). The National Bee Unit (NBU), part of the Animal and Plant Health Agency, rapidly located and destroyed the nests so we would expect any impacts on honey bee colonies and other pollinators to be small and localised.
From the analysis of nests found in 2023, a number of areas were identified where there is a low risk that Asian hornet queens may have overwintered. To address this, the NBU is carrying out spring trapping and working collaboratively with stakeholders to monitor traps at locations across Kent, East Sussex, Devon and North Yorkshire.
The Government remains committed to taking swift and effective contingency action against Asian hornet in 2024 thereby continuing to minimise the impacts on honey bees and other pollinators.
Mentions:
1: Robert Goodwill (Con - Scarborough and Whitby) and other pollinators feed on nectar and pollen. - Speech Link
2: Jo Gideon (Con - Stoke-on-Trent Central) Public interest often focuses on the charismatic insects such as bees and butterflies. - Speech Link
3: Daniel Zeichner (Lab - Cambridge) other pollinators”outweigh the likely benefits. - Speech Link
4: Robbie Moore (Con - Keighley) I want to reassure him on that.Pollinators were raised, and we know that bees and other pollinators play - Speech Link
Asked by: Sarah Dyke (Liberal Democrat - Somerton and Frome)
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 the Asian Hornet on (a) honey bees and (b) other wild pollinators (i) since January 2023 and (ii) from January 2024.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government recognises the essential role played by honey bees and wild pollinators in our environment, acknowledging their contribution to crop pollination. Additionally, pollinators play a vital role in supporting the natural ecosystem.
Asian hornets prey on honey bees and other pollinators so pose a significant threat to the pollination services that these insects provide. To date, rapid action has been taken in the UK to find and destroy Asian hornet nests. We would expect that there has been a localised impact on honey bee colonies and other pollinators. The Government remains committed to taking swift and effective contingency action against Asian hornet in 2024 thereby continuing to minimise the impacts on honey bees and other pollinators.
Asked by: Alistair Strathern (Labour - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the resources available to beekeepers to tackle the impact of Asian Hornets on (a) honey bees and (b) other wild pollinators in Mid Bedfordshire constituency.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government recognises that honey bees and wild pollinators are an essential part of our environment and play a crucial role in food production. All pollinators contribute the equivalent of more than £500 million a year to UK agriculture and food production, by improving crop quality and quantity. Pollinators are also beneficial to our wider, natural ecosystems.
Recognising the potential impact that Asian hornet would have on honey bees and wild pollinators, Defra, in collaboration with the Welsh Government, has developed the Asian hornet contingency plan which details the response to Asian hornet. The plan is regularly reviewed and was last updated in January 2023. The operational response is carried out by the National Bee Unit (NBU), part of the Animal and Plant Health Agency.
In 2023 the NBU has located and destroyed 72 nests in 56 locations. The NBU has now fine-tuned its response and enhanced its preparedness, and it can frequently find a nest within a day of an initial sighting being reported.
The Defra funding for the NBU is to deliver the Bee Health Programme and other agreed actions including responding to Asian hornet. This includes ensuring that NBU inspectors’ expertise is maintained through training, and that they have the necessary equipment and support to work effectively.
NBU has the necessary skills and experience and is therefore best placed to deliver the operational response.
We appreciate the vital role that beekeepers take in the response through helping raise awareness of the threat of Asian hornet, educating people in identifying these insects, encouraging them to report any suspected sightings and monitoring traps. Accurate and timely reporting is critical to the response and helps the NBU to continue to respond quickly and effectively to any potential nests.
Asked by: Charles Walker (Conservative - Broxbourne)
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 he has made of the potential impact of the Asian hornet on (a) the bee population and (b) the level of crop pollination.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government recognises the essential role played by honey bees and wild pollinators in our environment, acknowledging their contribution to crop pollination. All pollinators collectively contribute over £500 million annually to UK agriculture and food production by enhancing crop quality and quantity. Additionally, pollinators play a vital role in supporting the natural ecosystem.
Asian hornets prey on honey bees and other pollinators so pose a significant threat to the pollination services that these insects provide. To date rapid action has been taken in the UK to find and destroy Asian hornet nests. We would expect that there has been a localised impact on honey bee colonies and other pollinators. The Government remains committed to taking swift and effective contingency action in response to all credible sightings of Asian hornet.
Mentions:
1: Sarah Dyke (LD - Somerton and Frome) The loss of biodiversity and pollinators will have a heavy impact on our ability to grow food in future - Speech Link
2: Robbie Moore (Con - Keighley) actions through the sustainable farming incentive support the creation of flower-rich buffers that help pollinators - Speech Link
Mentions:
1: Sarah Champion (Lab - Rotherham) Among the world’s worst-hit groups are pollinators such as bees and butterflies, falling by 18% on average - Speech Link
2: Jim Shannon (DUP - Strangford) On bees and pollinating, just again for the hon. - Speech Link
3: Sarah Champion (Lab - Rotherham) It also seems appropriate to mention the farmers who, without those pollinators, are really suffering - Speech Link
4: Rebecca Pow (Con - Taunton Deane) Around 75% of all food crops are dependent in some way on pollinators—we have heard pollinators mentioned - Speech Link
5: Rebecca Pow (Con - Taunton Deane) We have integrated pest management to help our pollinators and a raft of other measures that farmers - Speech Link