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

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the reasons why the Woodlands for Water project delivered 9 per cent of the target hectares of tree planting.

The Woodlands for Water project, funded by Defra and delivered by the Riverscapes Partnership, ran from October 2021 to March 2025. At the end of the project, 288 hectares had been planted, with over 2,200 hectares of sites identified for planting. These are being pursued through other means, including through support from Rivers Trust and progressing planting through the Community Forests where appropriate.

Defra reduced funding to the project in financial year 2024/25 and the project is now closed.

Reasons for planting being below target include particular challenges around riparian planting, which typically involves small land parcels with multiple land managers alongside practical challenges of planting alongside linear features such as rivers.

We are continuing to support riparian planting through the England Woodland Creation Offer, which has stackable supplementary payments for woodlands that improve water quality, reduce the risk of flooding, and riparian buffers that improve water habitat. Our Water Environment Improvement Fund also supports targeted woodland creation for water benefits.