Guidance tightened on applications for emergency use of banned pesticides

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has tightened its guidance on authorising the emergency use of banned pesticides.

The new HSE guidance, announced on Thursday, aims to clarify and strengthen existing guidance to ensure that anyone applying for an authorisation to use a pesticide must take full account of the risks it poses to pollinators in their application.

It will apply to all pesticides including neonicotinoids, which destroy bees’ nervous systems and are banned in Europe.

In recent years, sugar beet farmers in the UK have received special permission to use neonicotinoids to fight disease.

But ministers committed to ending the use of banned neonicotinoids in England and earlier this year denied an emergency authorisation application for the use of neonicotinoid Cruiser SB for the 2025 sugar beet crop.

Environment minister Emma Hardy said: “Nature is the bedrock of our economy and it is vital that we take action to protect it for the future.

“We are committed to restoring our natural environment while supporting productivity and economic growth.

“That is why we are taking another step towards a complete ban on the use of bee-killing pesticides in England and we will continue to support farmers and growers to adopt sustainable practices.”

Neonicotinoid pesticides can contaminate pollen and nectar, harming bees’ ability to forage, navigate and reproduce.

The changes to the emergency authorisation guidance have been made in co-operation with all devolved governments in the UK.

It comes as part of wider Government efforts to stop their use, including through emergency authorisations.

Three neonicotinoid pesticides – clothianidin, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam – are currently not authorised because of their harmful effects on pollinators.

Ministers said they have outlined plans to support farmers to reduce reliance on chemical pesticides in the Government’s national pesticide action plan 2025, which includes measures to increase the use of integrated pest management techniques.

The Environment Department (Defra) said it will also publish its environmental improvement plan (EIP) “in due course”, which will set out its ambitions to halt the decline of nature, clean up rivers and seas, boost tree planting and reduce waste.

Doug Parr, Greenpeace UK’s policy director, said: “Tightening the rules on emergency authorisations is a welcome step in the right direction but tighter guidance alone won’t stop bees being poisoned.

“Our pollinators are already in crisis, with neonicotinoids playing a major role in their collapse. This is no time for half measures.

“The Government must deliver a total ban on bee-killing pesticides, a comprehensive plan on pesticide reduction, and shut down the loopholes that have allowed their use year after year.”