Bees and Butterflies: Neonicotinoids
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the ban on the use of neonicotinoids on agricultural crops on (a) bee and (b) butterfly population trends.
Answered by Emma Hardy
Three neonicotinoids – clothianidin, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam – have not been authorised for general use since 2018. It has remained possible to consider short-term emergency authorisations for particular uses, and emergency authorisation for use on sugar beet was granted each year from 2021 to 2024.
This Government is committed to restoring and protecting nature, including pollinator species such as bees and butterflies. We have given a commitment to end these emergency authorisations and the next steps towards delivering that commitment were set out in a published policy statement and in a written statement to Parliament made on 6 January.
There is clear and abundant evidence that neonicotinoids are harmful to species other than those they are intended to control, and particularly to insect pollinators such as bees and butterflies. Given the complex range of threats faced by pollinators, it is not possible to quantify the benefit of turning the current restrictions on the three neonicotinoids into a complete ban.
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