Sustainable Use of Pesticides: Draft National Action Plan

Overview

We want to know what you think about our draft revised UK National Action Plan for the Sustainable Use of Pesticides. The plan covers the next five years and aims to minimise the risks and impacts of pesticides to human health and the environment, while ensuring pests and pesticide resistance are managed effectively. The consultation letter and document (available in both English and Welsh) can be found at the base of this webpage under 'Related'.

Why your views matter

Defra and the Devolved Administrations have produced a draft revised National Action Plan for the Sustainable Use of Pesticides (revised NAP draft). The revised NAP draft aims to increase uptake of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and sustainable crop protection, in line with Defra’s 25 Year Environment Plan, the Welsh Minister’s Natural Resources Policy, The Environment Strategy for Scotland, and the goals of the Environment Strategy for Northern Ireland to protect and enhance the environment for future generations. The NAP will be delivered in support of Government targets across the UK on biodiversity and carbon net zero. Defra and the Devolved Administrations want to further consider the views of pesticide users, pesticide related industries (including food retail and manufacture), environmental and public health groups, and the general public in an effort to move forward together on issues surrounding pesticides.

The existing National Action Plan for the Sustainable Use of Pesticides (the 2013 NAP) was adopted under the Plant Protection Products (Sustainable Use) Regulations 2012. A link to this has been provided at the base of this webpage under 'Related'. A review of the 2013 NAP is a statutory requirement as well as a commitment under the 25 Year Environment Plan.  The revised NAP draft has been prepared with the input of a range of key stakeholders. However, formal consultation will enable due consideration of the range of views before a final revised NAP is published.

You can submit your views through Citizen Space. Responses must be submitted by 23:59 on 26 February 2021. Should you have any issues or questions, please do get in touch.

To complete the consultation please follow the link below. We strongly recommend that you view the related documents at the base of this webpage before starting the consultation questions, this includes the revised NAP draft (English and Welsh versions) which the consultation questions relate to directly. The consultation document is also able to be viewed in each section of the consultation questions.

Thank you for taking the time to provide your views.

What happens next

The responses will be reviewed and analysed, working with the Devolved Administrations throughout.

The consultation received over 1,500 formal responses through Citizen Space and a large number of email campaign responses. This was significantly more than anticipated. To give time for the four Administrations to analyse the responses carefully, the summary of responses will be published later than planned, by the end of Summer 2021.

We will then develop a final version of the National Action Plan for the Sustainable Use of Pesticdes which will replace the 2013 version.