Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with the National Farmers Union on the use of Cruiser SB neonicotinoid dressed seed on sugar beet in the UK in spring 2021.
Defra meets regularly with the National Farmers Union, as we do with other major stakeholders. These meetings cover topics of current interest including, on occasion, issues faced by sugar beet growers. This is separate from the documented regulatory process of assessment and decision-making, led by the Health and Safety Executive, for the application for an emergency authorisation for the use of Cruiser SB.