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

To ask His Majesty's Government whether local authorities are required to report each year on the success rate of tree planting; and whether they require local authorities to seek advice on best practice for tree planting.

Local authorities in receipt of funding from the Local Authority Treescapes Fund and Urban Tree Challenge Fund must report annually on the success rate of tree planting and survival to be eligible to receive funding for three years of post-planting maintenance.

However, tree planting is not a statutory duty for LAs and there is no requirement in law for them to report on tree planting rates.

The Local Authority Tree and Woodland Strategy Toolkit, published in December 2022, provides step-by-step guidance for local authorities to develop an effective trees and woodland strategy to realise the multiple benefits trees can deliver to their communities. It contains helpful information and resources that can be used to guide tree planting and management. We encourage all local authorities to use this resource and create their own strategic approach to expanding, managing and protecting their local treescape.

We have also launched the Woodland Creation Accelerator Fund which is designed to provide financial support to local authorities to increase their capacity and specialist skills to enable them to ramp up tree planting and woodland creation delivery.