MPs blast government bee strategy
by Simon Essex
MPs have spoken out against the government's spending on bees
The criticism comes as beekeepers and scientists await the results of a government survey which will decide how much money bee research will receive in future.
MP Dr Ian Gibson says: "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."
The government’s agriculture department Defra are running a nationwide consultation until the end of August to help them decide what to do about Britain’s honey bee problem.
'Wiped out in ten years'
Lord Rooker says honey bees "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.”
£200,000 per year is spent by Defra on research into bee diseases in Britain - 0.1% of the estimated £200million value of honey bees to the economy. In the USA they now spend $80million (£40.5m) per year on bee research.
Lord Rooker says the results of the 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.”
Concern
Dr Gibson says the government need to "wake up to the issue"
The consultation ends on August 29th. After this, the government will come up with “a final strategy” for honey bees, which will include funding plans for bee research.
Despite criticism, Defra MPs are backing the service that their National Bee Unit (NBU) offers under the current funding levels. 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 says the problem will not go away without a change in the NBU’s priorities: “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, Defra's new strategy is highly anticipated. Mr Shaw says that whatever that strategy 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.
