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 she has made of the effectiveness of the EU Timber Regulation in preventing the import of illegally-harvested timber; and if she will make a statement.

The EU Timber Regulation (EUTR) prevents the trade of illegally-harvested timber in the EU by laying obligation on operators who place timber and timber products on the market, and those who subsequently trade in them. It was implemented in the UK by the Timber and Timber Products (Placing on the Market) Regulations in March 2013.

Independent assessments by the European Commission and WWF rank the UK’s efforts on tackling the trade in illegal timber and our domestic implementation of the EUTR as amongst the best in EU Member States.

To be fully effective in keeping illegally harvested timber and timber products out of the EU all Member States need to implement the EUTR. We are working closely with the Commission and other Member States on this and have offered to share the UK’s experience with them.

The review next year will provide us with an opportunity to improve the effectiveness of the EUTR.