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Select Committee · Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Tree Planting and Woodlands

Status: Closed Opened: 1 Oct 2020 Closed: 20 Jul 2022 15 recommendations 1 conclusion 1 report

The Government has promised a massive acceleration in the rate of tree planting to help offset greenhouse gas emissions. But questions have been raised about whether the targets are the right ones, whether the right types of trees will be planted in the right places, and whether enough is being done to protect existing woodlands. …

Clear

Reports

1 report
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Third Report - Tree planting HC 356 21 Mar 2022 16 Responded

Recommendations & Conclusions

2 items
4 Recommendation Third Report - Tree planting Acknowledged

The financial incentives the Government is providing must make it economically viable to plant trees.

The financial incentives the Government is providing must make it economically viable to plant trees. The overall direction of travel is laudable, and the interim English Woodland Creation Offer (EWCO) provides better incentives than previous schemes. However, getting to net zero may be held up by a lack of progress …

Government response. Farmers and land managers who take up EWCO now will be able to transfer their contract into a future environmental land management scheme at future agreed points without any loss of benefits. More details on the full list of options …
14 Recommendation Third Report - Tree planting Acknowledged

The application and approvals process for tree planting is seen as too bureaucratic by land-owning...

The application and approvals process for tree planting is seen as too bureaucratic by land-owning and forestry organisations. While we understand the importance of not weakening the environmental controls, there appears to be a consensus that it is possible to speed up the approval process by improving administration, guidance and …

Government response. The government is undertaking a Post Implementation Review (PIR) on the 2017 amendments to the Forestry Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process and will consider stakeholder views, and is set to publish a new framework for Environmental Impact Assessments.

Oral evidence sessions

5 sessions
Date Witnesses
23 Nov 2021 Edward Barker · Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, The Rt Hon Lord Goldsmith · Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs View ↗
14 Sep 2021 Alan Law · Natural England, George Dunn · Tenants Farmers Association, Judicaelle Hammond · Country Land and Business Association, Sir William Worsley · Forestry Commission, Steph Rhodes · Forestry Commission’s England Tree Planting Programme, Tom Bradshaw · National Farmers' Union (NFU), Tony Juniper · Natural England View ↗
13 Jul 2021 Dr Darren Moorcroft · The Woodland Trust, Emi Murphy · Friends of the Earth, Jenna Hegarty · Royal Society for Protection of Birds (RSPB), Jill Butler · Forest of Selwood Community Interest Company, Melanie Baines · The United Kingdom Environmental Law Association, Robin Gray · National Association of AONBs View ↗
15 Jun 2021 Brian Fraser · Horticultural Trades Association, Caroline Ayres · Confor, David Sutherland · Buckinghamshire Council, Hamish Macleod · BSW Timber Group, Jen Turner · Royal Forestry Society, Shireen Chambers · Institute of Chartered Foresters View ↗
9 Mar 2021 Amanda Thomson · UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Jim Mackinnon CBE, Professor Ian Bateman · University of Exeter View ↗

Correspondence

1 letter
DateDirectionTitle
14 Jul 2021 — Correspondence from the Chair to Lord Goldsmith in relation to the possible clo…