Money for bees as the Environment Secretary defends Government

Setting out her vision for the natural world, Ms Truss will say economic growth and a healthy natural environment depend on each other, with the £100 billion food industry needing the countryside “to be in top condition” if it is to be at its most productive.

She will also launch the Government’s Bee and Pollinator Strategy, which aims to reverse declines in pollinating insects such as bees, saying that they contribute £430 million a year in pollinating crops.

“Four times the salaries of the top ten players in the Premier League,” Ms Truss will today say.

“Like the football players, they require excellent accommodation, training and the best diet and nutrition to make them world beating. That’s why I am ensuring across all land uses there are strong incentives to provide pollinators with habitat, forage and space.”

Ms Truss will insist the Government is committed to its pledge to be the “greenest ever”.

She will say: “To achieve that, the debate has to get beyond experts and special interest groups, beyond targets and summits, beyond the polarised slanging match we so often hear: you’re an alarmist or a denier, a hippy or a gas-guzzler.

“The reality is different. We are making environmental and economic progress. They are not just compatible - they depend on each other.”

Ms Truss will say pollinators are “indispensable” to food production.

“Without those insects, not only would our parks, gardens and countryside be much more drab places, our food could well become less varied and some of it more expensive.”

The Government is also launching a new £900 million countryside stewardship scheme with payments to farmers and land owners for measures to support wild pollinators and farm wildlife.