Bees
Oral Answers to Questions — Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
10:30 am
Hilary Benn (Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; Leeds Central, Labour)
There are no reliable estimates on the number of honey bees in the UK, although there is consensus that the numbers have declined since the arrival of varroa in the early 1990s. No assessment has been made of the effect of that decline on pollination. I recently announced additional funding of £4.3 million for bee health, and that includes £2 million for research.