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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to improve tree planting rates as part of their forthcoming 25 year plan for the environment, food and farming.

Our ambition is to be the first generation to leave the environment in a better state than we found it, and we are committed to publishing a long-term plan that builds on our long history of wildlife and environmental protection, and sets out a new approach to managing the environment.

We want everyone to have a say on building polices that enable our environment to thrive, which is why we are working closely with a range of environmental and conservation groups and businesses to develop initial proposals. We will shortly launch a public consultation on our ambition.

We recognise the wide range of benefits that trees can bring to our environment and we are keen to increase planting rates as we work towards our ambition. In the spring we are holding a number of forestry engagement events with stakeholders to discuss the 25 year environment plan and our manifesto commitment to plant 11 million trees during this Parliament.