Source · Select Committees · Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee
Recommendation 7
7
Deferred
Paragraph: 56
Increasing domestic timber production and consumption can provide an additional revenue stream to support tree-planting,...
Recommendation
Increasing domestic timber production and consumption can provide an additional revenue stream to support tree-planting, whilst helping to store carbon and reduce the UK’s reliance on timber imports, which contributes to overseas deforestation. While we welcome the steps the Government is taking to boost domestic production and increase the use of wood in construction, progress to date has been very limited. We therefore recommend Defra and BEIS publish, by September 2022, an action plan to increase the use of domestically grown timber in the UK. This action plan must have a clear economic focus providing guidance on what trees we should be growing to meet domestic demand. It should also contain annual milestones for the proportion of domestically grown timber used, with an aim to double the amount of domestically grown timber being used in the UK by 2030.
Government Response Summary
The government has established a cross-Government and cross-industry Timber in Construction (TiC) policy roadmap working group that will report before the end of this Parliament, after further research and scoping is completed.
Paragraph Reference:
56
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government
Deferred
The England Tree Action Plan sets out our proposals to support a thriving forest economy and encourage demand for UK-grown timber to reduce our carbon footprint from imports and replace more carbon-intensive materials. We recognise the important role our commercial forests play in tackling climate change, supporting a green economic recovery, and levelling up rural areas but that the UK is still importing a significant amount of its timber (80%). Within this, we see timber in construction as a significant opportunity to increase demand for our home-grown timber. Timber can be used in both traditional and certain modern methods of construction in a wide range of commercial and residential settings. The Government committed in the England Trees Action Plan (ETAP) and Net Zero Strategy (NZS) to increase the safe use of timber in construction, with low rise buildings the main opportunity area for growth. We have established a cross-Government and cross-industry TiC policy roadmap working group to design a policy roadmap identifying key actions for Government, the construction sector, the timber sector, and academia to safely increase timber use in construction. It will report before the end of this Parliament. As part of this the working group will consider what impact increasing use of TiC will have on domestic timber supplies as well as considering appropriate targets for TiC. However, further research and scoping is needed to understand safety implications and the realistic supply of domestic timber in coming years. The group will also support implementation of other commitments set out in the ETAP and NZS which relate to timber supply and consider further actions, in both the public sector and in the private sector, to enable more use of structural timber in line with Climate Change Commission recommendations. This includes providing £1.5 million financial support over the next three years to develop innovative timber products through the Forestry Innovation Fund and working with Homes England and other partners to explore ways to increase timber use in the delivery of housing programmes.