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1130431

	registered interest
	date	06/06/2019
	answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept id	13
	answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	hansard heading	Bees
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the recent trends in the UK bee population.
	tabling member constituency	Romford
	tabling member printed	Andrew Rosindell
	uin	261132
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/06/2019 answer text <p>Each year the Government publishes an indicator of trends in populations of wild bees and other pollinators in the UK. The indicator measures changes in the distribution of almost 400 species of bees and other insects since 1980 and shows that, for all pollinating insects, the indicator has declined by 22% since 1980 although it has stabilised in recent years. For bees, the indicator has declined by 17% since 1980 although it shows evidence of a recovery since 2013.</p><p> </p><p>Trends are also available for managed honey bees. The number of beekeepers registered on BeeBase, the National Bee Unit’s biosecurity system which underpins the Government inspectorate’s actions for bee health, has increased significantly over the last 10 years from 12,000 to over 40,000 today.</p><p> </p><p>Protecting pollinators is a priority for this Government. Since 2014 we have been working with a range of partners to implement a National Pollinator Strategy to address declines in wild pollinators and concerns about bee health, including establishing a pollinator monitoring and research partnership to gather further data and strengthen the evidence base.</p> answering member constituency Suffolk Coastal answering member printed Dr Thérèse Coffey question first answered 14/06/2019 09:47:25 answering member 4098 label Biography information for Dr Thérèse Coffey
	tabling member	1447 label Biography information for Andrew Rosindell

1130433

	registered interest
	date	06/06/2019
	answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept id	13
	answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	hansard heading	Biodiversity: South East
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to increase biodiversity in (a) London and (b) the South East.
	tabling member constituency	Romford
	tabling member printed	Andrew Rosindell
	uin	261133
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/06/2019 answer text <p>The Government has implemented a range of measures to both protect and increase biodiversity across the country. In London 6,000 hectares have been designated as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), with some 141,000 hectares designated as SSSI across the south east. These protected sites host habitats and species of international importance for wildlife conservation. Examples include Walthamstow Reservoirs SSSI which is Europe’s largest urban wetland, and the New Forest, the largest area of semi-natural habitat in England covering 29,000 hectares of heathland, grassland and ancient woodland.</p><p> </p><p>We provide substantial public funding for increasing biodiversity, spending £2.9 billion on agri-environment schemes in England through our seven year Rural Development Programme. Schemes are tailored to the specific biodiversity interests in London and the south east through our local targeting statements. In London priorities include wood pasture and parkland as well as wetland habitats such as reedbeds. In the south east there are a number of statements reflecting the diverse landscapes of the region including the heathlands of the Thames Basin, chalk grasslands of the North Downs and South Downs and wetlands of the Kent coast.</p><p> </p><p>The Government also supports a range of partnership activities. For example in London, at Walthamstow, Natural England has worked closely with a range of partners over ten years on a partnership project to expand wetlands and open them to the public. In the south east, Natural England is working with the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, the RSPB and over 100 farmers and landowners to reintroduce the short-haired bumblebee to Dungeness. The success of the project in creating extensive, wildflower-rich habitat has led to the recording of rare bee species in areas where they have not been seen for 40 years.</p> answering member constituency Suffolk Coastal answering member printed Dr Thérèse Coffey question first answered 14/06/2019 09:31:04 answering member 4098 label Biography information for Dr Thérèse Coffey
	tabling member	1447 label Biography information for Andrew Rosindell

1130493

	registered interest
	date	06/06/2019
	answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept id	13
	answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	hansard heading	Biodiversity: Gardens
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to increase biodiversity in UK gardens.
	tabling member constituency	Romford
	tabling member printed	Andrew Rosindell
	uin	261155
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/06/2019 answer text <p>Under the National Pollinator Strategy the Government works with research, voluntary and private sector partners to develop advice so everyone can provide and manage nesting and feeding habitat for bees and other insects in their gardens, window boxes, allotments or community gardens. We promote this advice through the Bees’ Needs website and through the Defra-coordinated, annual Bees’ Needs Week campaign to celebrate and encourage nationwide action. Advice includes Five Simple Actions, detailing steps that gardeners can take to help pollinators and garden biodiversity.</p><p> </p><p>The Government is also addressing the needs of biodiversity in urban areas through its plans to introduce a mandatory biodiversity net gain requirement for development in England. This will help to ensure that new developments include wildlife-friendly green spaces.</p><p> </p><p>We will continue to work in partnership with scientists and practitioners to review and improve the evidence base, to inform our policy and we will be sharing examples of nature-friendly gardening during the 2019 Year of Green Action. This will include a garden, developed in partnership with the Sensory Trust, at this year’s Royal Horticultural Society Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival, which will showcase the many ways in which gardens can contribute to increased biodiversity.</p> answering member constituency Suffolk Coastal answering member printed Dr Thérèse Coffey question first answered 14/06/2019 10:37:01 answering member 4098 label Biography information for Dr Thérèse Coffey
	tabling member	1447 label Biography information for Andrew Rosindell