Ancient Trees: Protections

Baroness Tyler of Enfield Excerpts

Thursday 24th April 2025 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Baroness Tyler of Enfield]

To ask His Majesty’s Government, following the recent felling of an oak tree in Enfield, what assessment they have made of the adequacy of protections in place to prevent the felling of ancient trees of national significance.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Baroness Hayman of Ullock) (Lab)]

My Lords, ancient and veteran trees are recognised as irreplaceable habitats and protected in national planning policies. Local authorities may place tree preservation orders—TPOs—that prevent trees from being felled or significantly modified. We understand that there was no TPO on the Enfield oak tree prior to its felling. One is now in place on what remains of the tree. We are considering the recommendations of a recent report that focused on improving the protection and stewardship of important trees.

--- Later in debate ---

[Baroness Tyler of Enfield (LD)]

My Lords, how can a much-loved 500 year-old oak tree at Whitewebbs Park in Enfield, which I know well, be felled at one stroke—as the Times newspaper put it—leading to a public outcry, when it comes less than two years after the felling of the Sycamore Gap tree? Does this not show that current legal protections, even for nationally significant trees, are totally inadequate? The Woodland Trust has described them as a “gaping void”. What specific steps are the Government taking to ensure that this outrage will never happen again? Does the Minister agree with me that a national list of heritage trees that would have intrinsic protection, akin to ancient monuments and listed buildings, would be a very good thing to introduce?

[Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)]

Clearly, many people were shocked by the felling of this tree, coming on the back of what happened to the tree at Sycamore Gap. To someone who, like the noble Lord opposite, lives in Cumbria, it was really horrifying. It has opened up a nerve in the country about how important it is that our ancient trees are properly protected. At the moment, the Government are looking at the recommendations of a report from the Tree Council and Forest Research regarding measures that are needed to improve protections for ancient, veteran and culturally important trees. We are not in a position to outline what we are actually going to do, because we are in the process of going through those recommendations, but we are aware that there are great concerns.

Food Supply and Security

Baroness Tyler of Enfield Excerpts

Thursday 14th May 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Tyler of Enfield (LD)]

My Lords, as we have heard, food security is a global issue as well as a national and local one. The Covid crisis has exposed the fragility of global supply chains and the importance of investing in resilient supply chains to help meet future global shocks. At the local level, councils have been working hard supporting vulnerable people to access food throughout the pandemic, and we have heard a lot about supermarkets but should not overlook the essential role of local shops, providing an estimated 600,000 deliveries per week in their communities.

Food insecurity has become a way of life for far too many of our fellow citizens. The Food Foundation estimates that 8 million adults have experienced food insecurity since the start of lockdown, 5 million people in the UK households with children were experiencing food insecurity after just one month, and more than 200,000 children have had to skip meals. Prior to the pandemic, a significant minority of households were struggling to access healthy food and were relying on food banks and other community-based food projects. The Trussell Trust estimates an 80% increase in the number of people supported by emergency food parcels in its network compared with last year. Food banks have had to make changes to the way in which they work to stay open and stay safe while coping with a large increase in demand. I spoke yesterday to a local vicar who had witnessed a fourfold increase in food parcels at her food bank, but where volunteers had been queueing in supermarkets because they have been unable to make bulk purchases of essential items online. Surely supermarkets could make special arrangements for food banks, as for other vulnerable groups.

These food banks are doing an excellent job, but surely our aim should be that no one needs to rely on one. Anti-poverty charities have been calling for a time-limited coronavirus emergency income support scheme to prevent people from falling into serious financial hardship. Building on the welcome increase in the universal credit standard allowance, that could include temporary measures to lift the benefit cap, including the two-child limit, suspending the five-week waiting period for the first payment, and repayment of advances. I join the noble Lord, Lord Krebs, in asking the Minister what steps the Government are taking to ensure that people most in need are supported to put food on the table during this crisis.