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 adequacy of the Government's progress in meeting reforestation targets.

The Government is committed to meeting the Environment Act target to increase woodland cover to at least 16.5% of total land area in England by 2050. In the Environmental Improvement Plan 2025 we have also set the interim target to increase England’s tree canopy and woodland cover by 0.33% of land area by December 2030 from the 2022 baseline of 14.9%, equivalent to a net increase of 43,000 hectares.

Tree planting in England is at the highest recorded rate in over 20 years, with over 7,100 hectares planted in 2024/25.