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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to reduce the occurrence of ash dieback disease.

Our long-term national strategy to manage Ash Dieback is based on science, international best practice and the advice of the UK Chief Plant Health Officer.

We are protecting non-infected areas and have invested over £21 million in tree health research. Restrictions on the movement of ash, both inland and from other countries, are currently in place.

The Government-funded screening trial of 155,000 ash saplings is unprecedented in its scope and the UK is leading the way on the work to identify resistant strains. Collectively, our research is aimed at identifying the genetic basis for natural tolerance and screening our native ash trees for genetic markers. Work is also underway to further our understanding of the pathogen, how it spreads and local management approaches to protect individual, high value trees.

Our surveillance programme involving Government, industry, conservation groups and the public enables us to monitor the disease and to target resources effectively.