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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her polices of trends in levels of tree canopy cover in Lancashire since July 2024.

The Government is committed to increasing England’s tree canopy and woodland cover to at least 16.5% by 2050, supported by an interim target to increase cover by 0.33% by December 2030 from a 2022 baseline of 14.9%.

Progress towards this target is monitored through official Forestry Statistics on tree canopy and woodland cover. A fully calibrated assessment of change in this indicator since 2022 is not yet available. However, partial data indicates that an estimated 85 hectares of new woodland in Lancashire were planted between 1 July 2024 and 31 March 2025. In addition, around 30,700 individual trees were planted outside woodland, which over time are expected to contribute approximately 120 hectares of canopy and woodland cover.

These trends indicate continued progress in increasing tree canopy and woodland cover and support delivery of the Government’s long-term targets. The Forestry Commission is also developing more spatially targeted approaches, including regional advisory targets, to provide greater clarity on how national objectives will be achieved at a local level.