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Non-native species information portal

Call for evidence: securing the future for UK pollinators and key beneficial insects

From the Bees, Pollinators and Invertebrates All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG):

The APPG has launched an inquiry into “Securing the future for UK pollinators and key beneficial insects: Preparing against the threat of invasive species”. This is the APPG’s first inquiry in the current parliamentary term. The inquiry will focus on the following areas:

  • Insects continue to undergo significant declines in the UK and across the rest of the world, and recent research has shown that a major cause is the arrival of invasive species, particularly those that cause novel diseases.
  • Such a situation presents a challenge to the health and survival of UK-based pollinators, insects which are crucial to ecosystem function and food production.
  • Assessing the threats to pollinators from invasive species and determining how the UK government should respond to them. 

We have published our terms of reference and opened our call for written evidence. It contains 11 questions across three different themes: risk assessment, preparedness, and improvements to the system. Each response has a 400-word limit. 

Before responding, we recommend you read the full terms of reference, which you will be able to download using the link here.

The call for written evidence will close on Tuesday 7th July. The APPG is planning two oral evidence sessions which will be Tuesday 7 July and Tuesday 15 September; please indicate at the bottom of the call for evidence form if you willing to appear as witness at these sessions. 

Learn more and submit a response on the website of the Royal Entomological Society. Respondents are asked to submit evidence and any questions to: [email protected].

Commenting, Barry Gardiner MP, Chair of the Bees, Pollinators and Invertebrates APPG said:

“Last year along with the Royal Entomological Society, the APPG for Bees, Pollinators and Invertebrates was established to champion some of our smallest but mightiest species.

Pollinators are at the heart of functioning ecosystems and underpin our agriculture, and yet, their numbers have plummeted in my lifetime. Our APPG inquiry will not only ascertain the risks posed by invasive species to pollinators, but also hear from experts about the UK's level of preparedness.

With cross-party support, we will take forward specific recommendations to ensure that government delivers a Pollinator Action Plan which is as ambitious and robust as possible.”