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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will maintain the current restrictions on the use of neonicotinoid pesticides.

Decisions on the approval of pesticide active substances are made at European level. Since December 2013, three of the five currently approved neonicotinoids are not 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 restrictions currently in place for neonicotinoids are not time-limited. The European Food Safety Authority will be reviewing the evidence on the impact of neonicotinoids as planned later this year.