Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with (a) Network Rail and (b) the Secretary of State for Transport on Network Rail's programme to target all leaf fall trees for removal alongside its tracks.

The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs met the Chief Executive of Network Rail and the Minister of State for Transport on 9 May. Following this discussion the Department for Transport commissioned an independent review to look at Network Rail’s vegetation management regime.

The Government’s Tree Champion will discuss this review with the Minister of State for Transport in due course.