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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how his Department (a) consults communities, including taking residents' environmental concerns into account, in respect of the process of local tree felling.

The England Trees Action Plan sets out how trees should be seen as an essential part of the fabric of urban areas and aims to increase the number of trees in our towns and cities.

The Government is committed to protecting our valuable street trees. The new Duty to Consult on street tree felling as mandated in the Environment Act 2021 will increase transparency in decision making and allow the public to be consulted before a street tree is felled. We are currently developing appropriate guidance for the new Duty to Consult and will be seeking to commence the measure in 2023.