Parliamentary Search

Written question asked by Scott Benton (Independent (affiliation)) on Friday, 16 February 2024, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 20 February 2024. It was answered by Rebecca Pow (Conservative) on Friday, 23 February 2024 on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Hornets and Non-native Species

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what funding his Department plans to provide to tackle (a) Asian hornet and (b) other non-native invasive species that impact the natural ecosystem in the next three years; and whether he plans to review that funding.

Answer

(a) Asian hornet

The National Bee Unit (NBU), part of the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), has a long-standing relationship with Defra to deliver the Bee Health Programme which includes management and control of honey bee pests and diseases.

As Asian hornet is of particular concern to beekeepers, the NBU has taken action since 2016 to locate and destroy any Asian hornet nests with the aim of preventing this insect species from establishing.

APHA receives a total budget from Defra and, from that, the NBU budget is set to cover the range of essential work that the NBU delivers including taking action against Asian hornet. The NBU can draw on resources within wider APHA including in the response to Asian hornet. There isn't a separate budget for action against Asian hornet.

(b) Other invasive non-native species (INNS)

Action to tackle INNS is taken as part of a wide number of programmes across Defra, for example woodland management, management of our sites of special scientific interest or of our waterways. This includes actions by both Defra and its arm’s length bodies, including Natural England, the Environment Agency, APHA and the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science. It also includes options within Countryside Stewardship and now Environmental Land Management to support control of INNS. As such it is not possible to provide a single figure for the budget allocated to tackling INNS.

Departmental budgets beyond 2024-25 will be agreed as part of the next Spending Review. The Secretary of State will set out funding plans following that process.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
14248
Session
2023-24
Subjects
Finance Non-native species Hornets
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk