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

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by Dr Susan Willis Chan and Dr Nigel Raine Population decline in a ground-nesting solitary squash bee (Eucera pruinosa) following exposure to a neonicotinoid insecticide treated crop (Cucurbita pepo), published in February 2021; and what plans they have (1) to take account of its recommendations before making any further application for exceptional approval to use neonicotinoid seed treatments, and (2) to review current approval methods to ensure that they take account of the impact of pesticide application on solitary and ground-nesting bees.

The emergency authorisation recently granted for a neonicotinoid seed treatment for sugar beet was for the thiamethoxam-based product Cruiser SB. Because the cold winter conditions have reduced the likely pest pressures in 2021, the product will not be used.

The Chan and Raine study did not find significant effects on the solitary bees from use of a thiamethoxam seed treatment although it did find effects from a product containing a different neonicotinoid called imidacloprid. It would be wrong to draw firm conclusions from the study, particularly as the bee species used (the hoary squash bee) is not a UK native.

The Government recognises the need to protect pollinators, including solitary bees, from the effects of pesticides. As we build our national pesticides regime, we will ensure that potential risks to bees are carefully assessed.