Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to prevent the unnecessary felling of healthy trees on network rail infrastructure.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The rail estate Network Rail manages is estimated to include over six million trees. Network Rail’s main priority must be the safe and reliable operation of the railway which will mean that in some cases the felling of healthy trees will be necessary and the reconfiguring of woodland canopy a safe distance from the rail line is sensible. Network Rail has committed to achieve no net loss of biodiversity across the network by 2024 and a net-gain of biodiversity across the network by 2035.
Network Rail is also working with the Forestry Commission to identify opportunities for tree planting on land neighbouring the rail estate and has committed £1.2m for community tree planting through the Tree Council over the next five years.
Asked by: Alex Baker (Labour - Aldershot)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what data his Department holds on the number of trees that have been planted in Aldershot constituency since 2010.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Forestry Commission publishes statistics on new planting of woodland, and trees outside woodland, in England. These can be found in Forestry Commission Key Performance Indicators. These statistics are reported for each financial year in thousands of hectares. The Government does not hold data for individual constituencies but continues to work with delivery partners across England to increase tree planting rates.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to encourage afforestation projects to (a) enhance biodiversity and (b) reduce carbon emissions.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Total tree planting and woodland creation reached over 5,500 hectares in England in 2023/24.
All publicly subsidised afforestation projects must comply with the UK Forestry Standards (UKFS) requirements. The UKFS has been developed specifically for forestry in the UK and is based on applying internationally agreed criteria which support the delivery of sustainable forest management and recognise the need to balance environmental, economic and social objectives.
The England Woodland Creation Offer includes supplements that incentivise the creation of native woodland with high biodiversity potential. Biodiversity Net Gain also offers opportunities to create new woodlands that enhance biodiversity.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many trees were planted in (a) South Holland district and (b) South Kesteven district in the last ten years.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Forestry Commission publishes statistics on new planting of woodland, and trees outside woodland, in England. These can be found in Forestry Commission Key Performance Indicators . These statistics are reported for each financial year in thousands of hectares.
This Government has not set specific targets for individual districts and the reporting statistic the hon. Member has requested is not currently available.
The England Trees Action Plan has kickstarted tree planting, with nearly 16 million trees planted over the past 3 years. We reported 5,529 hectares of new woodland and trees outside of woodland planted in 2023-24. The figures for planting in 2024-25 will be published as part of Official Statistics in June 2025.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he is taking steps to use the Government's tree planting programme to help tackle (a) flooding and (b) upper catchment management of rivers.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra recognises the role tree planting has to support the management of England’s rivers. Defra works with the Forestry Commission, Natural England and the Environment Agency to ensure tree planting is appropriately targeted. Defra supports a number of projects and grants in this area. These include:
- The England Woodland Creation Offer supports riparian tree planting, flood management and improved water quality;
- The Woodlands for Water project works with the Riverscapes Partnership to facilitate the creation of riparian woodland corridors in six river catchment areas;
- The Environment Agency’s Water Environment Improvement Fund supports the planting of thousands of riparian trees across England;
- The introduction of a Sustainable Farming Incentive action for the management of habitat strips next to watercourses to support the planting of trees and scrub for biodiversity, flooding and water quality benefits.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help increase tree planting along riverbanks.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra recognises the role tree planting has to support the management of England’s rivers. Defra works with the Forestry Commission, Natural England and the Environment Agency to ensure tree planting is appropriately targeted. Defra supports a number of projects and grants in this area. These include:
- The England Woodland Creation Offer supports riparian tree planting, flood management and improved water quality;
- The Woodlands for Water project works with the Riverscapes Partnership to facilitate the creation of riparian woodland corridors in six river catchment areas;
- The Environment Agency’s Water Environment Improvement Fund supports the planting of thousands of riparian trees across England;
- The introduction of a Sustainable Farming Incentive action for the management of habitat strips next to watercourses to support the planting of trees and scrub for biodiversity, flooding and water quality benefits.
Asked by: Lord Roborough (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to requiring the Forestry Commission to increase the number of tree species supported for new planting in order to increase the resilience of forests to climate change.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK Forestry Standard (UKFS) supports both coniferous and broadleaf woodlands. The latest update to the UKFS will come into force on 1 October 2024. All afforestation projects in England should conform to the UKFS requirements to ensure that the right trees are being planted in the right place and version five does not allow a single species to constitute more than 65% of a new forest. Primary and secondary forestry species, as defined by Forest Research, are eligible for funding through the England Woodland Creation Offer; in addition, emerging forestry species can constitute up to 15% of the trees planted although this element will be screened to ensure they are appropriate to the site and local wildlife, and their planting sites are recorded.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps to ensure that Northern Ireland is included in the free tree scheme this year.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Forestry is a devolved matter. Responsibility for tree planting in Northern Ireland is led by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA). Defra regularly coordinates with DAERA. There are a number of tree planting schemes in Northern Ireland provided by non-governmental organisations.
Asked by: Gen Kitchen (Labour - Wellingborough and Rushden)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what data his Department holds on the number of trees planted in Wellingborough constituency since 2010.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
The Forestry Commission publishes statistics on new planting of woodland, and trees outside woodland, in England. These can be found in Forestry Commission Key Performance Indicators. These statistics are reported for each financial year in thousands of hectares.
This Government has not set specific targets for individual constituencies and the statistic the hon. Member has requested is not currently available.
Our England Trees Action Plan has kickstarted tree planting over the past 3 years. We reported over 3,600 hectares of new woodland and trees outside of woodland planted in 22/23. This represents the highest woodland planting rate for nearly a decade and an almost 40% increase on the previous year. The figures for planting in 23/24 are scheduled to be published as part of Official Statistics in June 2024.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question
To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, whether the Church plans to take steps to plant trees on diocese lands.
Answered by Andrew Selous
Diocesan land is managed by individual dioceses at a local level and, as such, the Church Commissioners are unable to plant trees on diocesan property. However, the Church Commissioners work with diocesan teams and other church bodies to encourage the responsible use of land, reducing carbon emissions and increasing biodiversity where appropriate, including incorporating environmental improvement into food production.
The Church Commissioners’ rural estates team has assisted with the creation of a guidance note for diocesan officers on ‘managing land for climate and nature’, attended net zero meetings, and engaged with local diocesan environmental officers. Staff from the Rural Estates team have also met with the Rural Bishops Group to illustrate their work managing the rural estates and share experiences that apply to dioceses. They will continue to share details of tree-planting undertaken by the Commissioners with our diocesan partners and are keen to work together on further improving and implementing good practice.
In 2023, the Church Commissioners planted over 1.5million trees on their Forestry and Farmland holdings, 700,000 of which were in the UK.