Mar. 19 2024
Source Page: New measures to help protect poultry industry from bird fluFound: Our natural assets such as soil, air, pollinators and so on have suffered over many years through what
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
Mar. 15 2024
Source Page: Thousands of species set to benefit from new government fundingFound: The project will also see a new flower rich pasture planted, supporting pollinators and insects to thrive
Mar. 08 2024
Source Page: Call for comments: draft risk management evaluation of a substance proposed as a persistent organic pollutant (POP) 2024Found: Due to its specific mode of action other species such as bees, birds and fish are not affected by the
Report Mar. 07 2024
Committee: Science, Innovation and Technology CommitteeFound: Second Report - Insect decline and UK food security HC 326 Report
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
Found: Debate on the environmental impact of neonicotinoids and other pesticides
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).
Government Response Feb. 12 2024
Committee: Horticultural Sector CommitteeFound: of developing new priorities for pollinators post- 2024.