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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to (a) protect and (b) increase the bee population in Yorkshire and the Humber.

This is a devolved matter, and the information provided relates to England only. Across the country, the Government is investing in protecting, restoring and recovering wildlife-rich habitats and species, including bees and other insects.

This includes securing 75% of our network of Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) by area in favourable condition by 2042. These sites provide legal protection for our most important wildlife and natural features in England. There are over 4000 SSSIs in England, covering a little over 7% of the country’s land area. Yorkshire and the Humber is home to 371 of these sites, covering an area of 187,144 hectares (https://designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/ReportConditionSummary.aspx?regionName=YORKSHIRE+%26+HUMBERSIDE&ReportTitle=YORKSHIRE+%26+HUMBERSIDE).

The Government provides substantial public funding for increasing biodiversity, spending £2.9 billion on agri-environment schemes in England through our seven-year Rural Development Programme. Countryside Stewardship’s ‘wildlife offers’ provide for sources of nectar and pollen for insect pollinators and are now open for applications for agreements starting in 2021. Schemes are tailored to the specific biodiversity interests in Yorkshire and the Humber through local targeting statements (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/countryside-stewardship-statements-of-priorities).

We support species recovery through agri-environment schemes and partnership projects. Natural England is working with conservation organisations and landowners on the Back from the Brink programme, a £7.7 million partnership funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and others to put over 100 priority species on the road to recovery. Two Back from the Brink projects operating partly in Yorkshire and the Humber, ‘Colour in the Margins’ led by Plantlife, and ‘Ancients of the Future’ led by Buglife, are creating and ensuring the resilience of rich habitats which support bees and other insects.

We have also supported Buglife’s ‘B-Lines’ project, which has produced maps of potential pollinator-friendly habitat across Yorkshire and the Humber and other regions. Our annual Bees’ Needs Champions Awards have recognised councils and community groups from across Yorkshire and the Humber for their exemplary work for pollinators.

Our 25 Year Environment Plan marked a step-change in ambition for the natural environment and we are determined to build on these successes.