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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle reductions in biodiversity in existing woodlands; and what steps she plans to take through the Environmental Improvement Plan to monitor this.

Expanding our trees, woodlands and forests is an important tool at our disposal for reversing reductions in our woodland biodiversity.

Establishing native woodland has made the greatest contribution to the increase in priority habitats in recent years, and we will continue to improve the condition and increase the extent of our most precious woodland habitats, such as irreplaceable ancient woodlands. We have pledged £816 million for tree planting and woodland creation up to 2030, benefiting biodiversity and setting us on a path to contributing 100,000 hectares of wildlife-rich woodland to the statutory habitats target by 2042.

The England Woodland Creation Grant provides additional payments for the creation of native woodland and to buffer and connect existing ancient and native woodland. New payments have been introduced to Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier to support the improvement of woodland and the management and restoration of ancient woodland. Over 2000ha of ancient woodland habitat has been brought into this ancient woodland option since its introduction.

We are already taking a range of actions to support woodland biodiversity and will set out further details in the upcoming Environment Improvement Plan.