Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much funding was awarded to local authorities in (1) 2021, and (2) 2022, from (a) the Local Authority Treescapes Fund, and (b) the Urban Tree Challenge Fund.
Forestry is a devolved matter and so this answer is for England only.
The Urban Tree Challenge Fund (UTCF) has an expected survival rate of 100% for standard trees in the first two years, dropping to 90% from year three. A selection of planting sites is inspected each year. Any excess failures will require remedial action for trees to be replaced. All post-planting reports for the Local Authority Treescape Fund (LATF) confirm a survival rate of at least 75%.
The UTCF also includes three years of establishment payments for weeding, watering and aftercare to help secure successful establishment. In 2022, this government also offered extraordinary payments to UTCF holders to replace trees lost due to the hot and dry weather.
Figures for these funds are provided in the table below.
Year | Fund | Funding awarded (£m) | Local authorities funded |
2021-22 | LATF | 8.4 | 42 |
2021-22 | UTCF | 8.4 | 63 |
2022-23 | LATF | 6.7 | 35 |
2021-23 | UTCF | 3.6 | 39 |