Oral Answers to Questions

Alex Chalk Excerpts
Thursday 17th December 2015

(8 years, 11 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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George Eustice Portrait The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (George Eustice)
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The hon. Gentleman makes a very important point. Through our rural development programme, we are supporting farm businesses that want to diversify and start retailing their own produce.

Alex Chalk Portrait Alex Chalk (Cheltenham) (Con)
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T8. Trees are a vital and precious feature of our natural environment, nowhere more so than in areas like Cheltenham, where they act as the town’s green lungs. Will my right hon. Friend update the House on how many trees the Government plan to plant over the course of this Parliament?

Rory Stewart Portrait The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Rory Stewart)
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The Government have committed to planting 11 million more trees over the course of this Parliament. We hope we may even be able to exceed that target. We are particularly proud of a scheme we are developing with the Woodland Trust to plant trees and to educate primary schoolchildren about them.