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

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the threats from disease to hornbeam trees (Carpinus betulus) in England and Wales.

Details of pest and disease threats to hornbeam (Carpinus betulus), along with other plant and tree species, are included on the UK plant health risk register, which can be accessed here: https://secure.fera.defra.gov.uk/phiw/riskRegister/. Of the 1,040 entries on the risk register, ten of these have hornbeam specifically listed as a major host species, although hornbeam may be a minor host in relation to certain other pests and diseases listed (e.g. those which are polyphagous in nature on broadleaved trees). The risk register includes information about current mitigations in place and priorities for future actions.