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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the state of health of the UK tree population following the recent Ash Dieback epidemic.

Surveillance and monitoring has been carried out by the Forestry Commission and the Food and Environment Research Agency to provide intelligence on the rate of spread for Chalara. The surveillance in all four administrations is helping to determine the extent of the disease. This work will continue on new infected sites and, in consultation with stakeholders, the Government will consider what future surveillance work is needed.

Further information on the management approach to Chalara and other established tree pests and pathogens in England can be found in the Tree Health Management Plan, which was published in April 2014.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tree-health-management-plan