This Commons Library briefing paper provides information on the single use carrier bag charge in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, examines the legal basis for the charge, the exemptions and what will be done with the proceeds of the charge. It also examines the impact of the charges to date.
Documents to download
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Commons Library debate pack - the UK bee population (413 KB, PDF)
•There are over 250 species of bee in the UK: 25 species of bumble bee, 224 species of solitary bee and 1 honey bee species.
•Pollinators such as bees are estimated to be adding up to £600 million per year to the value of UK crops through increased yield and quality.
•The UK’s biodiversity indicator for pollinators (which uses bees and hoverflies as the key indicator species) has been assessed as showing long term decline since 1980 but as remaining stable in the short term.
•A number of factors such as disease, habitat loss, climate change and pesticides are thought to have contributed. No single factor seems to be responsible with the importance of different factors varying with the environmental setting and whether bees are managed or wild.
•Pollinator strategies and plans bringing together actions to address this decline are in place across the UK in England (2014) Wales (2013) and Scotland (2017) and there is an All Ireland Pollinator Plan (2015). These strategies aim to provide a framework for a range of stakeholders to work together with government to enhance habitats for bees and other pollinators as well as fill gaps in data and research.
•The National Bee Unit provides support, health inspections and information to bee keepers in England, Wales and Scotland. In Northern Ireland, the Department of Agriculture Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) runs the Bee Health Inspectorate.
•There has been a great deal of focus on the sub-lethal impacts of certain neonicotinoid pesticides on bees. EU restrictions have been in place on the use of three particular neonicotinoids since December 2013 and the UK Government has recently announced that it is supporting the Commission’s plans to extend these restrictions on the advice of the Expert Committee on Pesticides (ECP). Library briefing Bees and Neonicotinoids (July 2017) provides further background.
•The Government has said that unless the scientific evidence changes, the government will maintain these increased restrictions post-Brexit
Documents to download
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Commons Library debate pack - the UK bee population (413 KB, PDF)
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Please note: for information on accessing food banks and food parcels during the pandemic please see our briefing Coronavirus: Support for household finances. For an account of developments in food bank activity over the crisis period see section 7 of this paper, Food Banks in the UK. Recent research means we have increasing amounts of data on food banks, giving us a fuller picture of their provision across the UK, and providing a more detailed picture of the characteristics of food bank users.
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This is a reading list of publications on the UK’s withdrawal from the EU and future UK-EU relations from library, research services and committees of the UK and devolved parliaments and assemblies.
