Oral Answers to Questions

Bob Blackman Excerpts

Thursday 5th November 2015 Commons Chamber

[Jeremy Quin (Horsham) (Con)]

12. How many trees the Government plan to plant during this Parliament.

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

14. How many trees the Government plan to plant during this Parliament.

[The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Elizabeth Truss)]

We are committed to plant 11 million trees this Parliament. That is in addition to the 11 million we planted in the last Parliament, which is contributing to the highest woodland cover in Britain since 14th century.

--- Later in debate ---

[Elizabeth Truss]

Wakehurst Place is a fantastic national asset and is part of the Kew group, which is the jewel in DEFRA’s crown. Not only do we have the millennium seed bank and the important work it provides; we also have the world’s largest database of plants, which we are now digitising so we can benefit everybody in society.

[Bob Blackman]

I thank my right hon. Friend for her answers thus far. The importance of a well-maintained, well-managed woodland capability is clearly dependent on demand for timber. What role is there for Grown in Britain to manage that demand, and what extra role can it fulfil in future?

[Elizabeth Truss]

Grown in Britain is a fantastic campaign that is bringing together people from right across the timber supply chain to ensure that more of our buildings use British wood, perhaps by adjusting building standards, and that more of the furniture that we buy uses British woods such as oak and beech. Thanks to the Grown in Britain project, we have seen an 8% increase in domestic timber production between 2010 and 2014, and more of our woodland is now under management.