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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment the Department has made of the effectiveness of policies to protect pollinator populations.

Following the conclusion of our National Pollinator Strategy in 2024, Defra will deliver a refreshed Pollinator Action Plan, as part of the broader Environmental Improvement Plan. This will set out key actions for pollinators in England.

Defra partly funds the UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme (UK PoMS) providing systematic data on the abundance of key pollinators at a national scale. This data contributes to measuring trends in pollinator populations and targets conservation efforts.

The Health and Safety Executive has published updated guidance for emergency authorisations of pesticides. This is the next step in delivering on the commitment the government made in December 2024 to end the use of banned neonicotinoid pesticides in England.