Asked by: Paul Maynard (Conservative - Blackpool North and Cleveleys)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much his Department has paid the Woodland Trust for delivering tree-planting and forestry projects in each of the last five years.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra has paid the Woodland Trust £5.5 million in total, over the last five years, since 2016/17. This has funded a wide range of activities including research, surveying and assurance, as well as tree planting schemes. Of the total, £3.8 million has been spent on tree planting in the Northern Forest.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many trees have been planted in England in the last five years.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Forestry Commission produces statistics on all new planting of woodland for the UK. These can be found in Forestry Statistics and in Provisional Woodland Statistics: 2021 edition on the Forest Research website. These statistics are reported for each financial year in thousands of hectares. The latest available figures are for 2020-21.
For all new planting of woodland since 2020-21, there is also a published estimate of the approximate number of trees this represents available from the Forestry Commission Key Performance Indicators on the gov.uk website.
The areas of new planting (woodland creation) for England taken from the published statistics are shown below:
Year (ending 31 March) | New planting in England (thousand hectares) | New planting in England (estimated number of trees) |
2016-17 | 1.15 | .. |
2017-18 | 1.50 | .. |
2018-19 | 1.42 | .. |
2019-20 | 2.34 | .. |
2020-21 (provisional) | 2.18 | 4,252,000 |
2021-22 quarter 1 partial interim report | 0.47 | 926,000 |
Source: Forestry Commission, Forestry England, grant schemes and with estimates for areas planted without grant aid.
Planting rates in 2020/21 were impacted by Covid-19. The England Tree Action Plan published in May 2021 stated our aim to at least treble tree planting rates in England by end of this Parliament.
Note 1: ‘..’ denotes data not available. Estimates of numbers of trees in newly-planted woodland are incomplete for years before 2020-21.
Note 2: Estimates for areas planted without grant aid are believed to be under-reported and, as a result, the reported figures are likely to under-estimate the true level of planting activity. For England, woodland planting funded by sources other than the Countryside Stewardship Woodland Creation Grant and the former English Woodland Creation Grant, the Woodland Carbon Fund and the High Speed 2 Woodland Fund, include planting supported by the Woodland Trust, the Environment Agency, Natural England, the National Forest Company, in the Northern Forest, and by the Community Forests.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many trees his Department has planted since December 2019.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Forestry is a devolved matter and so this answer relates only to government supported tree planting in England.
The latest statistics for new planting supported by central government in England can be found in the Forestry Commission Key Performance Indicators: Report for 2020-21 on the gov.uk website. These most recent published provisional statistics are shown below:
Year (ending 31 March) | Government supported new planting of trees in England (hectares) | Estimated number of trees |
2019-20 | 1,956 | 3,281,0001,2 |
2020-21 | 1,892 | 3,860,0001,2,3 |
2021-22 quarter 1 partial interim report | 469 | 926,000 |
Source: Forestry Commission.
1. Includes trees in areas counting as woodland, and some tree cover outside woodland.
2. The density of tree planting, in terms of numbers of trees planted per hectare of land, varies between planting schemes
3. Tree numbers are approximate and to the nearest 1,000 trees. Figures may not sum due to rounding
These statistics include new planting supported by Government via the Rural Development Programme for England (Countryside Stewardship and the former English Woodland Creation Grant), the Woodland Carbon Fund, the High Speed 2 Woodland Fund, Forestry England, Natural England, the Environment Agency, the National Forest Company, in the Northern Forest, and by the Community Forests.
Planting rates in 2020/21 were impacted by Covid-19. The England Tree Action Plan published in May 2021 stated our aim to at least treble tree planting rates in England by end of this Parliament.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many trees (a) in number and (b) by hectare have been planted in England in each year since 2010; and what steps he plans to take to ensure that the Government achieves its commitment to plant 30,000 hectares of trees each year by the end of this Parliament.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Forestry Commission produces statistics on new planting and restocking of woodland combined by area, but not by tree numbers, in England and the UK. The area of new planting and restocking in England since 2010, taken from the published statistics, which are reported in thousands of hectares, is shown below.
Woodland Area (thousands of hectares)[i]
Year (ending 31 March) | New Planting and Restocking |
England |
|
2010 | 5.08 |
2011 | 6.50 |
2012 | 6.30 |
2013 | 6.57 |
2014 | 7.83 |
2015 | 8.83 |
2016 | 4.13 |
2017 | 4.15 |
2018 | 3.54 |
2019 | 3.07 |
2020 | 5.08 |
2021 | 4.16 |
Woodland area statistics can be found in Forestry Statistics on the Forest Research web site at: https://www.forestresearch.gov.uk/tools-and-resources/statistics/forestry-statistics/
The Government has committed to increasing tree planting in the UK to 30,000 hectares per year by the end of this parliament. The England Trees Action Plan (ETAP), published in May, announced new measures for England to boost tree planting, establishment and management, support a thriving green economy through more private investment in trees and woodlands, and bring trees closer to people.
ETAP implementation is supported through more than £500 million from the Nature for Climate Fund. This includes over £25 million for Woodland Creation Partnerships this year, £6 million for the Urban Trees Challenge Fund for the next two years, a £2.7 million Local Authority Treescape Fund over this next year, and substantial funding for the recently launched England Woodland Creation Offer providing grants for woodland creation and establishment.
The plan sets out a host of other commitments to increase tree planting, including: selecting three new English regions to become part of the Woodland Creation Partnerships scheme to boost tree planting rates; setting up a new fund to support UK tree nurseries to enhance quantity, quality, diversity and biosecurity of domestic tree production and by establishing a new Impact Fund to leverage private green finance to boost tree planting rates.
[i] Source: Forestry Commission, Forestry England, Scottish Forestry, Forestry and Land Scotland, Natural Resources Wales, Forest Service grant schemes.
Asked by: Lord Carrington (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government why it is necessary to terminate the whole of an existing agri-environment scheme if a part of that scheme is included in an application for the new English Woodland Creation Grant Offer.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
We recognise that the absence of a widely available legal route to take land out of an existing Environmental Stewardship (ES) or Countryside Stewardship (CS) into a new England Woodland Creation Offer (EWCO) agreement without significant/full reclaim of payments is a blocker for some woodland creation applicants. We are looking at how we may be able to transfer land in CS or ES agreement to EWCO, where this results in an environmental gain.
We are actively exploring options to find a way forward for existing agreement holders. In the meantime, the guidance in the EWCO manual remains valid. We will provide an update to potential applicants as soon as we have made tangible progress via our gov.uk pages and the Forestry Commission's e-alert. We remain committed to trebling our tree planting rates in England as part of our commitment to plant 30,000 hectares per year across the UK by the end of this Parliament.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool, West Derby)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps to ensure that the England Tree Strategy maximises the use of domestically grown British trees and minimise reliance on imports.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are committed to increasing tree planting across the UK to 30,000 hectares per year by the end of this parliament. We published our ambitious England Trees Action Plan on the 18th May which sets out our plans to at least treble tree planting rates in England in support of this, using more than £500 million from the Nature for Climate Fund.
Planting and establishing more domestic trees will play an important role in supporting the green economy, levelling up rural areas and creating thousands of new jobs. Using UK grown timber can reduce our carbon footprint from imports and reduce emissions by replacing carbon-intensive materials.
We committed in the Clean Growth Strategy and the 25 Year Environment Plan to increase the use of timber in construction, identifying it as key measure in encouraging commercial forestry. Our England Trees Action Plan includes measures to encourage both supply and demand for UK grown timber, including a new Forestry Innovation Fund which will provide financial support to develop innovative timber products, the use of procurement policies to increase public demand for sustainably sourced timber and increase the safe use of timber in construction.
Through the England Trees Action Plan, we are also working to increase tree production in our domestic nursery sector through targeted activities supported by the Nature for Climate Fund. This will build on current facilities and explore innovative ideas and technologies to improve production capacity. This is necessary to create a resilient, healthy, and genetically diverse planting stock, which is ready for our future climate in the UK. This should encourage further development of domestically grown trees and minimise the reliance on tree imports.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool, West Derby)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect of the closure of the Wykeham Nursery site in North Yorkshire on Forestry England's ability to fulfil planting targets without increasing reliance on the import of trees to the UK.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Forestry England manages two nursery sites, one at Delamere in Cheshire and the other at Wykeham in Yorkshire. Following a detailed review of future tree seedling supply needs, Forestry England plan to close Wykeham nursery and to concentrate production at its Delamere facilities. Forestry England is strengthening the resilience of tree supply by investing to adapt to the impacts of climate change and biosecurity challenges.
The nurseries exist primarily to supply trees for Forestry England; the closure at Wykeham will not impact upon current or future tree planting ambitions nationally or by Forestry England. In support of their biosecurity assurance protocols Forestry England only plant trees grown in Britain with Plant Healthy certification.
Forestry England has been proactive in strengthening biosecurity across their operations and were the first locations in which the Plant Healthy audit protocols were tested. Forestry England are working closely with industry partners in encouraging the development of robust biosecurity assurance across the whole tree nursery sector.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool, West Derby)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the (a) private forestry sector's current stocking density levels and (b) ability of private sector operators to fulfil public contracts without increasing reliance on imported trees.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We do not keep track of the private sector's current stocking density levels. However, through the England Trees Action Plan, we have set out measures to expand our data on trees, woodlands and forests. This includes establishing a Nursery Notification Scheme which will provide information on supply and demand of different kinds of tree, which will support nurseries and seed suppliers to produce the right stock at the right time.
We do not hold information or make assessments on the ability of private sector operators to fulfil public contracts. However, we are working to increase tree production in our domestic nursery sector through targeted activities supported by the Nature for Climate Fund. This will include capital investment in nurseries to improve the quantity, quality, diversity and biosecurity of domestic tree production. This is necessary to create a resilient, healthy, and genetically diverse planting stock, which is ready for our future climate and grown in the UK. This should encourage further reliance on domestically grown trees.
We know that collaborative engagement with both the public and private forest nursery sector is crucial to enhance nursery production. Through the England Trees Action Plan, we are setting out a roadmap for future engagement, building on what we already have in place. This will allow us to develop collaborative, committed and transparent relationships with the nursery sector that delivers better strategic alignment and enhances plant and seed production further.
Asked by: Earl of Sandwich (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they provide support for reforestation in Nepal in response to climate change; and if so, how this support is divided between (1) the government of Nepal, (2) Nepalese non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and (3) international NGOs.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK government does not currently have a dedicated forestry programme in Nepal. We do however support forestry in the climate vulnerable west of Nepal through our £50 million Climate Smart Development programme. This programme includes work to increase afforestation, protect slopes and remove CO2. This support is provided through Nepal's local governments but the implementation is mainly by community user groups and community forestry groups (both local NGOs). In addition, the UK is supporting the British Council to work with local NGOs to develop tree planting toolkits and campaigns to offset emissions.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to increase funding for tree-planting and urban greening schemes in Enfield North constituency.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are committed to increasing tree planting, and will set out policies to achieve this in the England Tree Strategy, including planting and protecting trees in and around urban areas, which are vital to creating healthy places to live.
We have announced a third round of bidding for the Urban Tree Challenge Fund (UTCF) on the 26 April 2021. Currently there are no UTCF funded projects in Enfield North however, applications are open to anyone who wants to plant trees in urban or peri-urban areas.
We have also announced the Local Authority Treescapes Fund (LATF) to increase tree planting and natural regeneration in local communities. £2.7 million will be available this year (2021/22) and is aimed at establishing more trees in non-woodland settings such as along riverbanks or footpaths. Applications will be accepted from unitary and top tier local authorities in England, including London Boroughs.
These funds are part of the Government’s Nature for Climate Fund and support trees in locations with the greatest levels of benefit to ecosystems and society, such as climate adaptation, health, and wellbeing, as well as connecting fragmented habitats.
The London Borough of Enfield was awarded a grant of £678,700 in the first round of the Green Recovery Challenge Fund which was for large scale ecological improvements to Enfield’s rivers, including planting 60ha of new accessible woodland which was separately funded by the Forestry Commissions’ Woodland Carbon Fund and installing 20 rural sustainable drainage systems to reduce flood risk to over 1,000 properties.