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Hornets: Pest Control

Asked by Martin WrigleyLiberal DemocratDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled Answered 24 July 2025UIN 68890

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many full-time equivalent staff were assigned to the (a) identification and (b) removal of yellow-legged Asian hornet nests in (i) 2025, (ii) 2023 and (iii) 2022.

Answered by Mary Creagh

There has been 0.5 full-time equivalent (FTE) staff assigned to nest destruction in 2022, 2023 and 2025. This means they were assigned to that role and available on call when needed.

There has been one FTE Senior Operational Lead dedicated to yellow-legged hornet since 2024 to manage the overall response.

No other staff are employed or allocated on a full-time basis to yellow-legged hornet The response is managed by redeploying staff from other business as usual delivery, based on outbreak demand.

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