Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he made of the potential merits of (a) a permanent ban on the use of neonicotinoids and (b) incentivising the use of (i) alternative and (ii) less harmful pesticides to protect biodiversity in the UK.

The UK Government continues to support the existing restrictions on the use of neonicotinoids. We will consider emergency authorisations for limited and controlled use in special circumstances where diseases, pests or weeds cannot be controlled by any other reasonable means.

The sugar beet industry has requested emergency use of Cruiser SB to protect the crop from severe yield losses while they develop alternative approaches (including resistant crops and husbandry measures).  The applicant anticipates that applications for emergency authorisations for neonicotinoid seed treatments may be needed next year, after which they aim to use those alternative approaches.

In 2021 the Government consulted on the draft National Action Plan for the sustainable use of pesticides which sets out the ambition to further minimise the risks and impacts of pesticides to human health and the environment.

The draft NAP aims to increase uptake of Integrated Pest Management and sustainable crop protection. Integrated Pest Management emphasises crop health with the least possible disruption to agro-ecosystems and encourages natural pest control mechanisms, therefore playing a critical role in supporting and enhancing biodiversity, whilst improving soil heath and water quality.