Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Trees

Thursday 27 April 2023 · 2 questions

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

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 2 Partly answered 0 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Church Commissioners have planted 819 acres of new woodland in the UK since 2014
  • Over the last two years, they bought 438 acres in south Wales and Angus, Scotland
  • England has the lowest tree coverage in Europe at 10%

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Philip Hollobone Con
Religion & Faith Environment
Context

The MP is inquiring about the Church of England's efforts to plant trees on its land, highlighting a specific interest in environmental stewardship.

Question

Whether the Church of England is taking steps to plant more trees on its land.

Answer from Andrew Selous

Since 2014, the Church Commissioners have planted 819 acres of new woodland in the UK. Over the last two years we have bought 438 more acres in south Wales and Angus in Scotland, to plant 350,000 more trees, subject to planning permission. Over the last five years we have planted 11.8 million trees globally.

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Q2 Philip Hollobone Con
Religion & Faith Environment
Context

The MP is concerned about the low tree coverage in England compared to other European countries and asks for specific initiatives by the Church of England to increase tree planting in England.

Question

That is great news for Scotland, Wales and the rest of the world, but what about England's green and pleasant land? England has, at 10%, the lowest tree coverage in Europe, so can we have more church trees, please, in England?

Answer from Andrew Selous

My hon. Friend speaks so well, not only for Kettering but for England. He is right to draw attention to the fact that England is among the countries with the least tree cover in Europe. The Church absolutely wants to play its part in changing that. To help achieve that, it participated in the Queen's green canopy initiative, including through work on an 8,000 mixed-tree plantation in north-west England. We also work with farming tenants across England to explore every possible planting opportunity, including planting trees in hedgerows, agri- forestry and field-scale woodland planting, and will carry on doing so.

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