§ Mr. Kirkwoodasked the Minister of Agriculture Fisheries and Food whether he will introduce a scheme to give financial relief to commercial beekeepers who lose more than 50 per cent of their stock because of adverse weather conditions.
§ Mrs. FennerI shall reply to the hon. Member as soon as possible.
§ Mr. Kirkwoodasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he is prepared to relax on a temporary basis import restrictions on new colonies of 70W bees to allow the commercial beekeeping industry to restock after the losses caused by the recent adverse weather conditions.
§ Mrs. FennerNo. Import controls were introduced to protect bee health in the United Kingdom. Any relaxation of these controls would be potentially more damaging to our bee population than the effects of recent bad weather.
§ Mr. Kirkwoodasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he is prepared to grant financial assistance to beekeepers who have to import bees to restock due to losses caused by the recent adverse weather conditions.
§ Mrs. FennerNo. Many beekeepers do not favour increased import of bees as a means of making up losses in the bee population.
§ Mr. Kirkwoodasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will investigate the possibility of making sugar available to commercial beekeepers at subsidised rates to allow them to recover losses sustained as a result of the recent adverse weather conditions.
§ Mrs. FennerI shall reply to the hon. Member as soon as possible.