The Government has set out plans to end the use of three pesticides that are lethally toxic to bees and other vital pollinators.

Neonicotinoids were banned in the UK in 2018, but have been authorised for emergency use every year in England since 2021.

Labour pledged to ban the use of these pesticides completely in its general election manifesto.

The Government said it has now outlined the next steps to do so, which include identifying options for legislation to prevent the future use of three neonicotinoids – clothianidin, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam – in the UK entirely.

But any applications for emergency use next year will still be considered under current laws, meaning the Government could approve their use in 2025.

Protecting bees by stopping the use of damaging neonicotinoids is an important step in supporting the long-term health of our environment and waterways, and our farming sector

Environment Minister Emma Hardy said: “We are delivering on our promise to ban toxic bee-killing pesticides and ending the long-term decline of our wildlife.

“A healthy environment is vital to our food and economic security. Protecting bees by stopping the use of damaging neonicotinoids is an important step in supporting the long-term health of our environment and waterways, and our farming sector.”

The Environment Department (Defra) is currently under investigation by the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP), which said the last Government may have failed to comply with environmental laws when granting use of thiamethoxam on sugar beet seeds in 2023 and 2024.

Green groups recently criticised the new Labour Government for considering approving the emergency use of thiamethoxam on sugar beats again in 2025, despite its manifesto pledge.

Campaigners have welcomed the move announced on Saturday but called for the Government to commit to a complete ban come January.

Paul de Zylva, nature campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said: “An end to the previous government’s annual pantomime of granting the ’emergency’ use of these deeply harmful pesticides is long overdue.

“But we’re not out of the woods yet – the Government must follow through by fully committing to a complete ban come January.

The ridiculous doom-loop of annual ‘emergency’ authorisations of these toxic chemicals must be broken and farmers supported with switching to sustainable and bee-friendly crop production

“And it must go even further still, by scrapping the current, weak national pesticides action plan and instead produce a credible version.”

Doug Parr, Greenpeace UK’s policy director, said: “It’s good to see ministers confirming their commitment to a complete ban on these bee-killing chemicals, but now they should waste no time in bringing it into effect.

“Bees, along with other vital pollinators, are essential for our survival – helping to sustain ecosystems and pollinating much of our food. But populations have been decimated over recent years, with the use of neonicotinoids one of the drivers of this decline.

“The ridiculous doom-loop of annual ‘emergency’ authorisations of these toxic chemicals must be broken and farmers supported with switching to sustainable and bee-friendly crop production.”

Richard Benwell, chief executive of the Wildlife and Countryside Link, said: “When Defra regulates, it should take the opportunity to ban other on-going and unnecessary uses of these harmful chemicals, such as flea treatments, where viable alternatives are available.

“The Government has signed an international pledge to halve the risk from pesticides and highly hazardous chemicals, so this positive step should be followed in short order with stronger regulation, alignment with the EU on chemicals restrictions, and generous incentives for farming systems that don’t rely on chemicals.”

The move comes ahead of the publication of a new UK National Action Plan (NAP), which will set out how pesticides can be used sustainably.

It comes as part of wider Government efforts to support the recovery of nature, including a review of the environmental improvement plan, new strategies to meet targets on air quality, the circular economy and water, legislation to crack down on polluting water companies and speeding up nature-based solutions to flooding.

The Government also highlighted progress in finding less damaging alternatives to safeguard food security, including research into new virus-resistant varieties of sugar beet and new alternative pesticide sprays.