Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the impact of the (a) The Town and Country Planning (Tree Preservation) (England) Regulations 2012 and (b) guidance issued on 6 March 2014 on (i) Tree Preservation Orders and (ii) trees in conservation areas with regards to their ability to improve biodiversity and mitigate climate change issues.

This Government recognises the biodiversity and climate mitigation value of trees. We committed in the England Trees Action Plan to spend over £500 million of the Nature for Climate Fund on trees and woodland in England between 2020 and 2025. The England Tree Action Plan also committed this Government to publishing guidance on managing woodland for a changing climate.

The planning practice guidance, as published on 6 March 2014, sets out that local authorities may consider taking into account the importance to nature conservation and climate change response when assessing amenity value. Information on the impact of tree preservation policy and legislation on biodiversity is not held nationally, as information on trees covered by Tree Preservation Orders is held by the local authority who made the decision.