§ Mr. David Priceasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will expedite the order prohibiting the import of honeybees and comb to prevent the Varroa mite reaching the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. WigginYes. My right hon. Friend the Minister and my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Scotland and Wales have today made the Importation of Bees (Prohibition) Order 1979. The order will be laid before Parliament tomorrow and come into operation the following day. It prohibits the importation into Great Britain of bees from countries infected with Varroa, and restricts imports from other countries to queen bees with attendant worker bees, as an added safeguard.