Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure that trees planted by National Highways as part of tree planting schemes are maintained.

The early establishment years are particularly challenging for tree success. The early survival rate is very dependent on prevailing climatic conditions.

However, National Highways has been listening to customers and communities, and is committed to delivering a more sustainable network, that protects and strengthens the environment for the future. To meet its Net Zero Carbon commitment to plant an additional 3 million trees they have sourced native tree seed of UK provenance and are growing these in a UK nursery to begin planting in 2024-25. National Highway’s Chief Highway Engineer is overseeing a rewrite of specifications for highways, including landscape and ecology planting and maintenance.