Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on wildlife of Network Rail cutting down trees, bushes and hedges during nesting season, and what plans they have to end this practice.

The government has not made an assessment of this. Network Rail has processes in place for managing tree removal around nesting season. In advance of any work there are, amongst other checks and surveys, specific checks to identify if there are any nesting birds within the vegetation Network Rail is planning to manage. Any identified or suspected nesting birds are left in situ and an exclusion zone created around them. Teams return after any chicks have fledged. If there are particular safety concerns with the vegetation, there are exemptions within the legislation which Network Rail could use following consultation with ecologists, lawyers and the British Transport Police.