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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to increase tree-planting as a method of flood prevention.

In some places trees can slow the flow of water down stream and reduce the local impacts of floods. That is why flood risk management is one of the targeting criteria for woodland creation funded through the new Countryside Stewardship scheme. The Forestry Commission also continues to undertake research into understanding what role woodlands can play in managing flood risk.