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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate her Department has made of the volume of structural timber required to meet the government’s housing delivery ambitions during this Parliament.

We recognise the important role timber can play in supporting Net Zero, including through reducing embodied emissions in construction and storing carbon. The Government relaunched a more ambitious Timber in Construction Roadmap in February 2025 to increase sustainable timber use. The UK currently meets only around a fifth of its timber demand from domestic production, and even with increased planting and improved management, imports will continue to be essential to meet demand and balance wider land use priorities. Using a combination of domestic and imported timber, as well as other construction materials will allow the Government to meet its housing delivery ambitions.