7. What action is the Welsh Government taking to enhance insect numbers in Wales? OQ56219

Thank you. Tackling the drivers for insect decline is central to our policies for increasing biodiversity. This includes introducing the agricultural pollution regulations and the clean air Bill White Paper. Both are vital measures that will deliver benefits for insects. The action plan for pollinators sets out further priorities for enhancing pollinator numbers. 

Thank you, Minister, but I was alarmed to see the UK Government's recent u-turn on allowing some farmers to use neonicotinoid pesticides—or neonics, which is easier to say—an incredibly harmful pesticide, on sugar beet crops. In 2018, the UK Government declined a similar application to use neonics and supported restrictions on these pesticides across the European Union, and, at the time, the UK Government said that those restrictions would remain in place unless the evidence changed. Well, it hasn't changed. The only thing that's changed is Brexit. In fact, the evidence showing how harmful these pesticides are has grown in three years. They cause damage not only to bees and the other insects, but to the soil, to wild flowers and to the river ecosystems that we've spent some time talking about already today. So, Minister, what assessment have you made regarding this u-turn, and what assurances can you give that the Welsh Government will not make a similar u-turn on harmful pesticides, particularly given the catastrophic reduction in insects in recent years?

Thank you. So, the decision taken by the UK Government has no impact here in Wales, so no assessment has been undertaken in relation to them doing this, and no application's been made for use in Wales, so no decision's been required by me. But no, I certainly would not want to do that, but, as I say, the impact of the English decision has no impact here in Wales. As you say, they did support new EU rules back in 2017, which did prohibit the outdoor use of three neonics, and we did fully support the UK position due to the effect on bees and pollinators. So, I have no plans to change that at all.