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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans she has to accelerate the rate of new woodland planting.

As promised in our manifesto, we have committed to planting 11 million trees during this Parliament, which we plan to do primarily through the Rural Development Programme’s Countryside Stewardship scheme. This scheme aims to invest £18 million on new woodland planting each year.

We are also encouraging more woodland creation in several other ways. For example, our Woodland Carbon Code continues to attract private investment in woodland creation projects. The Forestry Commission is also leading an Environmental Impact Assessment project in Durham to help give clarity to landowners on where a full Environmental Statement may be required for afforestation, which may be deterring some landowners from planting new woodland. We will also help increase demand for wood by supporting forestry businesses to further increase their competitiveness, productivity and innovation, through other schemes under the Rural Development Programme.

We remain strongly supportive of sector-led initiatives, such as Grown in Britain and the Roots to Prosperity strategy, in their work to grow demand for wood by further developing and strengthening the woodland economy from ground level up.