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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make it her policy to (a) back amendments to the EU Timber Regulation so that it covers all timber and wood products and (b) support at a European level proposals by the World Wild Fund for Nature to enable a market in 100 per cent sustainable timber by 2020.

Earlier this year, Defra responded to the current EU review of the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR) to recommend that the scope of the regulation is broadened to cover more timber products. We believe this would allow the EUTR to better meet its objectives in preventing illegal timber entering the EU market.

It is positive that UK organisations are committing to trade in both legal and sustainable timber by signing up to WWF’s Forest Campaign. We are supportive of companies across the EU making similar commitments through this campaign.