Defra and MPs

Defra have launched a national survey which will be crucial in deciding how much money bee research will receive in future.

The government’s agriculture department are running a nationwide consultation until the end of August to help them decide what to do about Britain ’s honey bee problem.

Lord Rooker is in charge of bee health at Defra. He says: “If nothing is done about it, the honey bee population could be wiped out in 10 years.”

“Honey bees are facing serious threats from a growing number of pests and diseases. It is vital that we do all we can to respond effectively to these threats and to sustain honey bees and beekeeping for today and for future generations.”

The current figure stands at £200,000 per year for research into bee diseases. In the USA they now spend $80million (£40.5m) per year.

Lord Rooker says the government consultation will shape Defra’s funding for bee research: “The strategy provides direction and focus for Government, beekeepers and other stakeholders working together over the next decade on sustaining honey bees.”

Other MPs are not convinced that honey bees are a high priority for the government. Liberal Democrat MP Dr Vince Cable says that the current Defra funding is not enough: “It’s a tiny research budget. If the research isn’t continued, then we won’t understand bee diseases. In order to save a very small sum of money, the government is putting at risk vitally important research.”

Defra MP Jonathan Shaw says that the funding is offset by other research projects: “Bee health benefits from a number of additional generic research projects. The government cannot protect and sustain bee health by ourselves, nor should it be that way.

“We need to understand what is happening so that we know what we need to fund and what priorities we need to set.”

Mr Shaw also drew attention to Lord Rooker’s comments about honey bees: “Lord Rooker said that bees might disappear; he did not predict that they would.”

Fellow Labour MP Dr Ian Gibson disagrees with how his party is handling the situation: “Without bees, who knows what decimation might follow. It hardly bears thinking about. We are trying to persuade government to take it seriously, but it takes a long time to get people to wake up to the issue.

“It’s pathetic given the magnitude of the problem. We’ve asked the questions in Parliament. Now we wait and see if the government reacts.””

The consultation ends on August 29 th. After this, the government will come up with “a final strategy”, which will include funding plans for bee research.

Despite criticism, Defra MPs are backing the service that their National Bee Unit (NBU) offers under current funding. Mr Shaw says: “The National Bee Unit has the science, the service, the research and the diagnostics under one roof. We do not know of any other unit that offers the same services, certainly in the EU.”

But Dr Gibson thinks the NBU should be leading the call for more money from Defra: “They should be pushing for it. They’re running scared; I would sack them if they don’t get involved.”

Dr Cable thinks the problem will not go away without a change in the NBU’s research into honey bee health: “Their bee unit says it’s varroa. This is one hypothesis, but there are others as well that need to be investigated. It might be a whole load of different things.”

“My understanding this it isn’t just cyclical. There could be permanent damage done here.”

With calls for Defra to act from MPs from both outside of the Labour Party and within it, the result of the consultation is highly anticipated. Mr Shaw says that whatever that result is, Defra has not turned its back on beekeepers: “We are certainly not doing that. We are very much engaged in these issues.”

 

Click here for more on the government’s National Bee Unit and read the story of the closure of Rothamsted