Thank you for contacting me about neonicotinoid insecticides and bees.
I entirely agree with you that bees and other pollinators play a vital role in the security of our food supply and the quality of our environment. I welcome the work the Government has done over the last few years to protect them, most recently through its National Pollinator Strategy.
I also support the Government's stance that the use of neonicotinoids should be restricted further. Ministers have been advised by the advisory body on pesticides that scientific evidence now suggests the environmental risks posed by neonicotinoids, particularly to our bees and pollinators, are greater than previously understood and justify further restrictions. We cannot afford to put our pollinator populations at risk.
Since December 2013 the EU has banned the use of the three neonicotinoids Clothianidin, Imidacloprid and Thiamethoxam on a number of crops attractive to bees, such as oilseed rape. The European Commission has proposed further restricting the same three neonicotinoids to allow their use only on plants in glasshouses.
Should this proposal be adopted, the UK would have the right to consider emergency authorisations. It would only do so in exceptional circumstances where there is a real need for the products, and the risk to bees and other pollinators is sufficiently low.
Thank you again for taking the time to contact me.
