Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Tree Planting

Thursday 6 February 2020 · 1 question

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 1 Partly answered 0 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Jason McCartney asked the Secretary of State to encourage local councils to develop emergency tree plans and mandate a minimum of 30 percent tree canopy cover in new developments.
  • The Secretary of State welcomed McCartney's ambition for tree planting and acknowledged the importance of incentivising tree planting through changes to the planning system.
  • Programmes like the urban tree challenge fund were highlighted as an opportunity for local authorities to support tree planting initiatives.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Jason McCartney Con Colne Valley
Environment
Context

The Woodland Trust and Jason McCartney advocate for emergency tree plans by local councils to identify land for tree planting.

Question

Does the Secretary of State agree with me and the Woodland Trust that we need to get local councils writing emergency tree plans that identify land for tree planting, and that we need to ensure that developments that come forward from housing developers include a minimum of 30% tree canopy cover?

Answer from Theresa Villiers (Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

I welcome my hon. Friend's ambition for tree planting in his local area. As I have said, changes to the planning system should incentivise investment in tree planting and nature. Programmes such as the urban tree challenge fund could provide a great opportunity for local authorities to play their part in delivering this tree-planting effort.

Answered
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