Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of Tree Preservation Orders; and whether the Government has plans to bring forward additional legislative proposals to improve the protection of trees and woods in urban areas.

Tree Preservation Orders are issued and enforced by local authorities, who have responsibility for ensuring trees of amenity value are protected for their community's enjoyment. The Government strongly believes in protecting our natural environment, which is why we increased protection for Ancient and Veteran trees in the National Planning Policy Framework in 2018 and are the first Government to commit to leaving the natural environment in a better state then we inherited it.

The England Tree Action Plan set out the Government's long-term vision for trees and acknowledged the role of strong regulation in protecting and sustainably managing our existing tree and woodland cover. We are committed to ensuring that our future planning reforms will lead to more trees being planted and ensure strong protections for existing trees, which will benefit all areas of the country, including urban areas.