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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what her Department's position is on an EU-wide ban on neonicotinoid pesticides.

Since December 2013, three of the five currently approved neonicotinoids have not been permitted for use on a wide range of crops considered “attractive to bees”. A number of other uses remain permitted under the EU approval.

The Government has implemented these restrictions in full. The European Commission has begun a review of the science relating to the restrictions. The Government believes that decisions should be made on the basis of the scientific evidence and will fully participate in this review.