Neil Parish, MP for Tiverton and Honiton, along with Labour and Liberal Democrat colleagues Joan Walley MP and Roger Williams MP hosted a reception for the Friends of the Earth and the National Federation of Women’s Institutes (NFWI) to talk to MPs about the Government’s National Pollinator Strategy.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is working with the Scottish Government, research councils and others on the Insect Pollinators Initiative, and through Biodiversity 2020 the Government is providing habitats to enable bees and other pollinators to thrive. Ministers are committed to increasing the overall extent of bee friendly habitats by at least 200,000 hectares.

 Friends of the Earth has welcomed the Government’s efforts to reverse the decline in bee populations but are press for a number of improvements such as better wildlife-friendly management of urban green spaces; improving the support and incentives for farmers to take up new agri-environment options; boosting Integrated Pest Management backed with improved independent advice to farmers and growers including on reducing pesticide use; supporting the widening of wildlife-friendly gardening by the public including ending the needless use of insecticides in home gardens; and setting up a proper system to monitor bee and pollinator species and numbers.

Neil Parish MP has written to Environment Minister Lord de Mauley asking him to strengthen the Bee Action Plan.