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

To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the main threats to the health of lime trees in England.

The Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan sets out our approach for managing the pressures on our trees. This includes climate change, high populations of squirrels and deer, and certain pests and diseases:

• There are seven pests, mainly moths and other insect species, on the UK Plant Health Risk Register which list Tillia as a major host. There are a total of 53 pests which pose a threat to broadleaved trees in general and it is likely that some of these pests will also have Tillia as a host.

• Lime trees seem to be unpalatable to deer and are not vulnerable to bark stripping by squirrels.

• There has been no specific assessment of the impacts of climate change on lime trees to date.