On Tuesday 1 March the Government will decide whether the threshold has been met to allow the use of a banned neonicotinoid, thiamethoxam.
In January, the Secretary of State for the Environment, George Eustice, granted an application by the NFU and British Sugar for emergency authorisation of thiamethoxam for the treatment of sugar beet seed in 2022. It was granted for the second year running “in recognition of the potential danger posed to the 2022 crop from beet yellows virus” – despite the pesticide being banned in 2018 due to unacceptable risks to the environment, particularly to bees.
The decision to authorise thiamethoxam this year goes against the recommendation of the Government’s own advisors, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and the Expert Committee on Pesticides (ECP) – they both state that they cannot support the authorisation of the banned neonicotinoid pesticide.