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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans her Department has to support the planting of species of (a) plants and (b) trees native to the UK.

The Government is committed to taking action to recover our threatened native species. That is why, in England, we have set four legally binding targets for biodiversity: to halt the decline in species abundance by 2030; then to reverse declines by 2042; to reduce the risk of species extinction by 2042; and restore or create more than 500,000 hectares of wildlife-rich habitat, also by 2042. We have set out our plan to deliver on these ambitious targets, along with our other environmental targets, in the revised Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP23).

Plant conservation is central to these ambitions, and we have funded, through agri-environmental schemes, the planting of native plant species to create wildlife rich habitats, for example for pollinators. Through the Species Recovery Programme, we have also supported specific recovery projects for our most threatened plant species such as lady’s slipper orchid and wild asparagus.

Trees are an essential part of our nation’s biodiversity, and existing native woodlands are recognised as priority habitats. Establishing more native broadleaf and mixed woodlands will therefore play an important role in contributing to the broader goals of the 25 Year Environment Plan. This is why the England Woodland Creation Offer includes supplements that incentivise the creation of native woodland with high biodiversity potential.