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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an estimate of the number of (a) (i) ash and (ii) other trees that were felled to help tackle ash dieback and (b) ash trees that have died from ash dieback in the last three years.

Forestry is a devolved matter and so this answer is for England only. The Forestry Commission issues felling licences under its regulatory powers in the Forestry Act 1967 for trees to be legally felled. The Government does not collect data on the number of individual trees that have been felled, including those affected by ash dieback. Estimating the number of trees affected by ash dieback would be challenging as felling licence applications are assessed based on intent. It is also possible that there are trees which have been affected by ash dieback which are exempt from felling regulations. This includes those presenting an immediate risk to public safety.

Forest Research, the research agency of the Forestry Commission, in collaboration with Fera, does publish a heat map of areas most affected by ash dieback. This is available at https://chalaramap.fera.co.uk/