The Environment Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Committee has
welcomed the government’s response
to its report, Tree
planting, which was published in March. The report made
several recommendations on issues including:
- how many trees England should be planting as its contribution
to the UK total, which is aimed at improving the environment and
achieving carbon net zero;
- improving the mapping of areas where trees should be planted;
- adjusting the ‘permanency’ requirements that could discourage
farmers from testing the viability, for them, of tree planting;
- increasing the use of domestic wood over imported wood to
reduce the carbon footprint of timber used in the UK; and
- helping tenant farmers to participate in tree planting
schemes.
The Chair of the EFRA Committee, Sir , said:
“This is a very positive response from the government. The
committee can feel that its work on the tree planting issue was
worthwhile.
“The government has told us how much woodland it plans to see
planted in England – over 29,000 hectares by 2025. This provides
welcome certainty to the sector and will allow the government to
be held to account on the delivery of its ambitions There’s also
a welcome commitment to improving mapping to ensure tree are
planted in appropriate places.
“We welcome the government’s commitment to increasing the
proportion of domestically-grown timber used in, for example, low
rise buildings in the UK. That, and better management of our
woodlands, should make the whole tree-planting project more
viable.
“And we hope farmers will be pleased with the government
following our recommendation to review the ‘permanency’
requirements of government schemes to encourage tree planting.
This requirement acts as a blocker to farmers who need to
experiment with different forms of land use to see what is viable
for them.
“The government’s plan to have the Tenancies Working Group
consider how tenant farmers can engage with tree planting schemes
is another farmer-friendly recommendation which we are glad the
government has accepted.
“So all-in-all this is a positive response to our report. But no
one should rest on their laurels. We shall be watching very
carefully to ensure these commitments are followed
through.”
