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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what information her Department holds on research taking place to find alternatives to neonicotinoid pesticides.

Research to bring individual insecticides to the market is carried out by pesticide companies. A number of public bodies fund research into pest control chemicals, biological controls and cultural methods. This includes funding from Innovate UK through mechanisms including the Agri-Tech Catalyst, which helps develop innovative solutions to challenges in crop production. Defra research into alternatives to current chemical pesticides can be found at http://randd.defra.gov.uk.