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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he has taken to ensure a diversity of trees and plants in local parks and green spaces to reduce the incidence of allergic reactions linked to asthma and other respiratory conditions.

The Government recognises the importance of a resilient, healthy, and genetically diverse treescape in the urban environment, which is ready for our future climate and relies on saplings grown in the UK.

Although allergen-free green spaces are not possible, a range of measures can be employed to reduce allergen risk through good design. We are working to ensure that trees for urban planting, such as in parks and streets, have a varying flowering and pollen regime to reduce the overall pollen burden to the urban landscape and lower allergenic threshold.

The Forestry Commission has also produced the Urban Tree Manual which provides advice on selecting and procuring the right tree for the right place in urban areas, including managing pollen.