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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has considered implementing the recommendations made in the Tree Council’s report entitled Protecting trees of high social, cultural and environmental value, published in April 2025.

Defra has reviewed the report’s recommendations and considered the feasibility of actions to take forward while ensuring balance between existing priorities and our statutory obligations. As the criminal case for the Sycamore Gap tree has shown, our judicial system takes illegal tree felling seriously: those that cause illegal damage will be held to account. In addition, our most important trees, those of ancient and veteran status, are considered irreplaceable habitats and protected in planning policy. Local authorities may also grant specific protections on individual trees of high value through Tree Preservation Orders. We are continuing to focus on improving the implementation of planning protections to ensure that our most important trees of ancient and veteran status are protected in both practice and policy.