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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will provide ring-fenced funding to local authorities for the planting of trees.

Defra supports local authorities’ tree planting activity through access to several of the Nature for Climate Fund Grant schemes, such as the Local Authorities Treescape Fund (LATF) and the Urban Tree Challenge Fund (UTCF).

The £4.4 million LATF is available for local authorities to plant and encourage natural regeneration of trees to restore neglected green spaces in their communities. This fund is aimed at establishing more trees in locations outside of woodlands including riverbanks, hedgerows, parklands, urban areas, beside roads and footpaths, in copses and shelterbelts, including neglected, disused and vacant community spaces.

The UTCF will provide up to £6 million of funding over the next two years for planting around 44,000 large trees in towns and cities. This fund is targeted at the managers of urban land with a broad applicant base, including local authorities.