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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of spatial targeting of tree planting in urban areas to help reduce social inequalities.

The Trees Programme includes a number of schemes that support urban tree planting. Lower urban tree cover often correlates with higher socioeconomic deprivation. The Government supports urban tree planting through the Tree Council and England’s Community Forests. Both plant trees in and around urban areas to improve wellbeing, tackle climate change and create places for nature. The Community Forests planted over 1,800 Hectares in 2025/26.

In line with development of spatial targeting, informed by the Land Use Framework, we are exploring new datasets and tools to better target new trees and woodlands, including future support for urban trees, and how to prioritise areas of deprivation.