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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many compliance inspections his Department made to ensure that the conditions of the emergency authorisation of Thiamethoxam were met in (a) 2021, (b) 2022 and (c) 2023; and what proportion of inspections found non-compliance with those conditions.

There is no specific programme of enforcement/compliance visits exclusively focused on Cruiser SB use, or for any other Emergency Authorisation. All pesticide use in the UK is regulated through HSE’s overarching programme of enforcement and compliance. This includes intelligence-led monitoring and enforcement activities to ensure that the supply and use of pesticides complies with legal requirements.

In line with the terms of the Emergency Authorisation granted for this year, if Cruiser SB is used on sugar beet seeds, growers are required to participate in a stewardship scheme, which includes requirements for the correct use of treated seed. All sugar beet growers are supported through the season by weekly monitoring and advice provided by the British Beet Research Organisation (BBRO). This provides a robust support mechanism to drive effective stewardship. As part of the stewardship scheme, the applicant must monitor soils and plants following use of the treated seed at key indicator sites and report back to the Health and Safety Executive at the end of the season of use.