To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent representations he has received on funding for research into the problems affecting the honey bee. (283650)

DEFRA has received approximately 13 parliamentary questions, 34 letters from MPs and 123 other pieces of correspondence in the last three months on the subject of honey bee health, including funding for research. There was an MP debate about bee health organised by Dr. Ian Gibson, former Labour MP for Norwich North, on 29 April, and a House of Lords Debate about the effect of disease on the British bee population, moved by Lord Moynihan on 21 May.

DEFRA has recently provided increased funding to bee health. £2.5 million is being made available over the next five years to the insect pollinator initiative on pollinator decline. In addition, £2.3 million will be provided to the Food and Environment Research Agency’s National Bee Unit over the next two years to implement the first stage of the healthy bees plan.