The Government recognises the essential role played by honey bees and wild pollinators in our environment, acknowledging their contribution to crop pollination. Additionally, pollinators play a vital role in supporting the natural ecosystem.

Asian hornets prey on honey bees and other pollinators so pose a significant threat to these insects. To date rapid action has been taken in the UK to find and destroy Asian hornet nests.

In 2023 a total of 72 nests were located and destroyed, the majority of these were located in the South-East (62). The National Bee Unit (NBU), part of the Animal and Plant Health Agency, rapidly located and destroyed the nests so we would expect any impacts on honey bee colonies and other pollinators to be small and localised.

From the analysis of nests found in 2023, a number of areas were identified where there is a low risk that Asian hornet queens may have overwintered. To address this, the NBU is carrying out spring trapping and working collaboratively with stakeholders to monitor traps at locations across Kent, East Sussex, Devon and North Yorkshire.

The Government remains committed to taking swift and effective contingency action against Asian hornet in 2024 thereby continuing to minimise the impacts on honey bees and other pollinators.

A risk assessment for Asian hornet was completed in 2011. The risk assessment concluded that there were multiple pathways through which Asian hornet could arrive in England and therefore that entry was very likely. Several areas were identified where Asian hornet incursions were thought to be most likely and this included Southern English counties, coastal regions, open areas near fresh water and areas close to ports and airports.

Since 2019 there have been 80 Asian hornet nests located and destroyed in Great Britain with 77 of these nests located in the South of England.

In 2023 there was a large increase in the number of nests when compared to all previous years, with 72 nests located and destroyed. The majority of the nests were located in the South-East (62), while 8 were located in the South and South-West and 2 were located in the North of England.

We ask all members of the public to be vigilant for sightings of Asian hornet during the peak season (June-October) as Asian hornets are known to be an effective hitch hiker and may be spotted anywhere across the country.

The results from the 2023 national otter surveys are expected to be published mid-2024.The results from the 2010 surveys show a varied picture: in England, the otter population was estimated at 2800 and probably increasing; in Scotland, the population was estimated at 8000 and possibly declining. Survey results from Wales in 2018 showed the population is in decline.

The Government is taking urgent action to bring forward a ban on American XL Bully dog types following a concerning rise in attacks and fatalities, which appear to be driven by this type of dog. We intend to have the legislation in place to deliver this by the end of the year.

In the meantime, we have been working hard with the police, local authorities and animal welfare groups to help prevent attacks by encouraging responsible dog ownership, to ensure dog control issues are addressed before they escalate and to make sure the full force of the law is applied across all breeds of dog.

The Environment Agency monitors groundwater levels across the country at thousands of locations and uses groundwater models designed to manage water resources, balancing the needs of both abstractors and the environment. Groundwater models provide current and future trends of water availability and are used to inform Abstraction Licencing Strategies used for local water resource management.

Over the past 20 years, groundwater levels in some areas have declined and in other areas increased. Over relatively short periods of time groundwater levels can vary significantly in response to environmental factors (particularly rainfall both in terms of overall quantity and timing) and due to changing abstraction pressures. It should be noted that groundwater levels in most locations were relatively high in the 2000s due to a period of high rainfall recharge which caused significant groundwater flooding in some areas and more recently have been relatively low due to prolonged dry weather.

The Environment Agency’s assessment shows that since 2017 the number of groundwater bodies with sustainable abstraction has increased from 72% to 73%.

The latest National Survey for Otter in England (2009-2010) noted that the otter was increasing in most of England, with the possible exception of the very south-east where no signs were found in Kent and most of Sussex.

Otters are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (as amended) and the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017. They are also listed as a species of principal importance under the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006. Thirty-two sites have been notified as a Site of Special Scientific Interest for their otter interest. There are five Special Areas of Conservation sites for the species and 10 further Special Areas of Conservation where otters are a qualifying feature but are not the primary reason for designation.

Due to the level of legal protection afforded to the otter, any new road scheme which has the potential to impact on the species must provide mitigation or compensation measures to prevent road mortality. Mitigation measures include the provision of pipes under roads or otter ledges within culverts.

The Somerset Levels and Moors are designed to flood and the moors store flood water when the rivers flowing through them overtop. The recent heavy rain has caused spillways on the Rivers Tone and Parrett to flow and there is now water stored on the moors. This water can only be pumped back into the rivers when river levels and tides allow. It will therefore never be possible to prevent some properties from flooding occasionally, especially those that are at or below sea level.

Since the flood event in 2013/14, £80 million has been invested in flood risk interventions, which will help the Environment Agency (EA), working with its partners, to reduce flood risk to properties and infrastructure. Interventions include road raising and new control structures to ensure access, dredging of the Rivers Parrett and Tone to ensure maximum conveyance, new flood alleviation schemes, more efficient deployment of temporary pumps at pumping stations, repairs to existing defences, and construction of new schemes. Further details of these interventions can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/somerset-levels-and-moors-reducing-the-risk-of-flooding/somerset-levels-and-moors-reducing-the-risk-of-flooding (copy attached to this answer).

Asset management is also an integral part of the EA’s incident response and recovery function. This includes proactive, preventative maintenance and replacement to ensure that flood risk management assets operate as and when required. During the current flood incident in this area, the EA has used drones to augment its on-the-ground inspections and check that all its assets are fit for purpose.

All waste collection authorities in England (307) collect residual waste from households. According to latest WRAP data, there are 10 waste collection authorities in England where the predominant residual waste collection frequency is 3-weekly (meaning at least 50% of households receive this service).

The Government has not made an assessment of the health risks of three-weekly collections. Currently only a small minority of local authorities in England provide a three-weekly residual waste collection. The Government supports frequent and comprehensive rubbish and recycling collections. We want to ensure that householders are not inconvenienced by being unable to get rid of putrescent or smelly waste weekly or having insufficient capacity to recycle or to remove residual waste.

Through new powers in the Environment Act 2021, local authorities will be required to provide a separate food waste collection to every household in England. Local authorities must implement at least weekly food waste collections and should continue to provide residual waste collections at an appropriate frequency, to ensure they are meeting their legal duty and to prevent any build-up of waste that could be harmful to public health.

The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, the regulatory body for the UK veterinary profession, has the power to ensure that overseas vets wishing to practise in the UK have adequate English language skills. Rather than Defra, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) has received representations from the Association of Independent Meat Suppliers (AIMS) which refer to Official Veterinarian (OV) communication skills. The FSA continues to engage and respond to AIMS on these important matters. The FSA has a contract in place with its Service Delivery Partner to ensure that OVs who are supplied from overseas have adequate English language skills.