Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the recent authorisation of acetamiprid, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the use of such pesticides on butterfly and bee populations.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), as the regulator for pesticides in Great Britain, has granted an emergency authorisation for a product containing the active substance acetamiprid in line with the requirements set out in relevant legislation. The authorisation is time-limited and subject to strict conditions of use, including appropriate controls and mitigations.

The short term and longer-term risks to bees were carefully assessed by HSE during the process. The short-term impact assessment showed that the level of risk was within acceptable limits. The longer-term impacts on bees were considered, and existing scientific studies reviewed by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) concluded that the long-term risk to honeybees, their larvae and also bumble bees was low, and any effects on the colony survival and development is likely to be low.

The risks to butterflies (or lepidoptera, which includes moths) were considered as part of the wider assessment of the risks to non-target arthropods/insects. This concluded that risks within treated fields could be managed, with a restriction preventing use after 31^st July. To protect non-target arthropods/insects outside the treated field, additional safeguards were specified, including a 5m buffer zone restriction.