Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Water and Flooding
(): The UK Government is setting
out its plans to deliver its commitment to end the use in England
of toxic neonicotinoid pesticides that threaten vital
pollinators.
Bees and other insects are critical pollinators. They play a key
role in food production, with the economic benefits of
pollination to crop production in the UK estimated at £500
million each year. Pollinators also support the wider environment
and the beauty of our rural and urban spaces. Pollinators face
many pressures - including loss of habitat, pests and pathogens
and climate change - and their numbers and diversity have
declined as a result. It is our responsibility to act now to
reverse this trend.
One of the pressures on pollinators is the use of certain
pesticides. Three specific neonicotinoid pesticides
(clothianidin, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam) have already been
removed from general use because of evidence that their use can
harm pollinators. Even at doses that are not directly fatal to
bees they can cause cognitive problems, impacting foraging
abilities and the productivity of colonies.
Despite this, the last Government continued to allow the use of a
neonicotinoid (thiamethoxam) seed treatment on sugar beet crops
in England under emergency authorisation arrangements. Emergency
authorisations are temporary measures intended to protect crops
in exceptional circumstances. We do not consider that they should
be used to perpetuate the use of neonicotinoids that can have a
long-term effect on biodiversity.
We will break free from this cycle. We will identify and assess
potential changes to legislation that would stop the use of
emergency authorisations for products containing clothianidin,
imidacloprid or thiamethoxam.
We will also review and update the approach to decisions on
applications for emergency authorisations in England. The revised
approach will be set out in published guidance which will clearly
state how future decisions on emergency authorisation will take
full account of the importance of pollinators and of the risks
they may face if emergency authorisation is granted.
These commitments are made by the UK Government in respect of the
position in England only, because pesticide policy and regulation
is devolved. A common approach to delivering on this issue is,
however, highly desirable. The UK Government will therefore look
to work with the devolved Governments in Northern Ireland
(recognising the provisions of the Windsor Framework), Scotland
and Wales to seek a consistent way forward across the UK.
These measures come ahead of the publication of a new UK National
Action Plan (NAP), which will set how pesticides can be used
sustainably. The Government is committed to supporting farmers to
protect their crops in more sustainable ways. This includes
funding for research into precision breeding for virus-resistant
varieties of sugar beet.
The plans are outlined in more detail in a document entitled “A
new approach to the use of certain neonicotinoids on crops grown
in England” which the Government is placing today in the House
libraries. This document is also available on GOV.UK.
