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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many trees are being planted annually in the UK; and whether the Government is meeting its target on tree planting.

Trees, woods and forests are a devolved matter and the information provided relates to England only. Neither Defra nor the Forestry Commission records tree planting data except for trees planted in England with central Government support.

The latest figures from the Forestry Commission’s report on Government supported new planting of trees in England, published on 13 June, show that from April 2018 to March 2019 at least 2.06 million trees have been planted with central Government support, equivalent to approximately 1,273 hectares of woodland creation. Between April 2017 and March 2018, 1.6 million trees were planted with central Government support, equivalent to approximately 1,045 hectares of woodland creation.

The Government has planted 16.1 million trees since 2010, and remains on course to plant 11 million trees in this Parliament, 2017-22. Woodland creation is a key activity of our 25 Year Environment Plan.