Select committee: Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee
Recommendation 2
Third Report - Tree planting
Published 21 Mar 2022
Paragraph 23
Addressed to Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee Tree Planting and Woodlands All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
The Government’s planting ambition will fail to achieve its net zero, nature recovery and biodiversity goals unless it is able to deliver the principle of planting the ‘right tree in the right place’. This requires adequate mapping data available being available to inform planting decisions. Currently there is no clear delivery date to work by the Forestry Commission and Natural England to fill gaps in their data, or for the work on the new national habitat map and Local Nature Recovery Areas (LNRS). We recommend that, by May 2022, Defra, the Forestry Commission and Natural England set out a plan for completing the data mapping work needed to allow it to ensure trees are not planted in locations where they will damage the environment.
From: Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, Third Report - Tree planting (HC 356), paragraph 23, 21 March 2022
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 20 June 2022 (deadline 21 May 2022).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The Government 'welcomes the recommendations' in the Committee's report and says that in many cases it 'has already taken action, or is planning action' to address them.
- On annual targets, it sets a planned England planting profile rising from 2,500 hectares in 2021/22 to 7,500 hectares in 2024/25, which it says is back loaded to allow new grants to become embedded.
- On the Tenancy Working Group, it says "We agree with the recommendation" and has included tree planting by tenant farmers within the group's remit.
- On Wykeham nursery, it gives no commitment to review the closure. It says the decision was "carefully considered" and will not affect tree planting ambitions, and that the site is available to lease by competitive tender.
- On seasonal worker visas, it says 30,000 visas will be available in 2022, to be kept under review with potential to increase by 10,000 "if necessary". It says a nine-month visa "runs counter to the scheme being seasonal only".