My Lords, I thank all noble Lords for their contributions on this important topic. The best time to plant a tree was, of course, years ago; the second-best time is now, so I am glad that we have committed to doing so at scale. The Government committed in May through our new England Trees Action Plan to action in this Parliament to support unprecedented levels of tree planting to deliver the many benefits that trees can provide. The action plan was widely and warmly welcomed by NGOs, conservation groups and stakeholders. This Bill includes measures which will update our tree protection laws, including by increasing fines and attaching restocking orders to land rather than landowners, who could sell their land without restocking trees.
I want to start by addressing Amendment 260. I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Young, for championing trees through her support for the Woodland Trust. I have enjoyed talking to her on many occasions about this issue in recent months. I share her ambition to see more trees planted and our existing woodlands protected. It has been positive to see such support from charities and the public for our plans and ambitions, as these ambitions can be delivered only with the support of the country.
That is why the Government committed to at least trebling tree-planting rates in England over this Parliament and to consulting on a new long-term tree target under the Environment Bill. We have committed in this Bill to producing regular statutory environmental improvement plans, beginning with our 25-year environment plan. This will regularly update our natural environment policies, including for trees. Therefore, we do not need another separate, individual strategy for trees; we have a strategy for trees.
Amendment 258 proposes an amendment to the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, introducing an additional differentiation between sites of special scientific interest and ancient woodland. Ancient woodlands established before 1600 are some of our most precious habitats and many are already designated under the SSSI series. The definition of ancient woodland is also already clearly established in the Forestry Commission and Natural England standing advice. However, we need to update the ancient woodlands inventory to map where they are and we are doing so, as the noble Baroness knows, alongside the Woodland Trust. Our England Trees Action Plan includes new steps to protect and restore ancient woodlands through management and restoration. Our new England woodland creation offer will fund landowners to buffer and expand ancient woodland sites by planting native broadleaf woodland. We will update the keepers of time policy on management of ancient woodland, veteran trees and other semi-natural woodlands, and we are also expanding the ancient woodland inventory to better map those ancient woodlands. The action plan announced our intention to establish a new category of long-established woodland, in situ since 1840. The Government
will consult on the protections that these critical woodlands are afforded in the planning system. I also confirm that our upcoming planning reforms will not weaken our strong protections for trees but rather enhance them, with many more trees planted as well. As such, I reassure the noble Baroness that we are taking significant steps to protect and restore ancient woodlands. That said, I will look closely at her proposal. As she said, ancient woodlands are irreplaceable and need our maximum protection.
Turning to the noble Baroness’s Amendment 259, I also assure her of our commitment to increasing UK biosecurity. I know that I do not need to lecture your Lordships’ House about the devastating impact of ash dieback or Dutch elm disease, or the importance of vigilance against other threatening diseases. The Government already support the plant health management standard and certification scheme, which is an independent, industry-backed biosecurity standard available to all market sectors and it covers international supply chains.
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The existing plant health regime already implements a range of measures that address and minimise biosecurity risks. I am advised that this amendment would be in breach of WTO rules governing international trade. However, I have asked for more information on this. As a number of noble Lords have said, the risk is real and terrible, and we must use every available lever to protect our trees. Bureaucracy certainly should not become an obstacle to doing that. We are taking steps to support our own nurseries with a view to reducing our dependence on imported saplings, and again I hope that we will be able to go further, in the interests of guarding against future tree diseases.
I thank the noble Earl, Lord Kinnoull, for his Amendment 260A. Woodlands created using public funding must conform to the UK forestry standard for woodland creation and management plans. Such plans include steps to reduce grazing from browsing mammals, including through active management, barrier protection and the development and monitoring of deer management plans. We recently announced in the England Trees Action Plan a number of actions to go further to protect our woodlands from browsing animals such as deer and grey squirrels.
We are also working with the UK Squirrel Accord to support the ongoing research into grey squirrel management; for example—and I am nervous saying this given the comments of my noble friend Lord Blencathra—looking into fertility control for grey squirrels. The aim is to produce an immuno-contraceptive that can be taken orally by grey squirrels through a species-specific delivery mechanism. I understand that a number of noble Lords have contributed financially to that work. It matters that we exhaust that option, not because it is the only option but because the main alternative—a cull of some sort—is not something that everyone will buy into. It only takes a few areas to not take part for the population to continue growing, so we will need to use every string in every bow.
We will also open a new competitive grant scheme to help land managers improve the ecological condition of their woodlands, including sites of special scientific
interest and ancient and long-established woodlands, a new category. Therefore, although welcome in intention, proposed new Clause 108 is unnecessary. We do not need new legislation to ensure that newly planted trees are protected from browsing animals.
I turn to Amendments 257E and 257F in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Kerslake. Local authorities and their tree officers play a critical role in managing and protecting valuable street trees. We have launched a local authority treescapes fund to help them plant more trees and to regenerate more publicly owned areas in local communities, as well as other changes to regulations and guidance to see more trees planted and protected. The duty to consult was developed following a consultation and discussions with stakeholders on how we can better protect trees in England. The duty as proposed was considered the most proportionate approach. Guidance on delivery of the duty is being drafted with input from local authority tree officers, the experts who will carry out this duty on our behalf. We will consult further before publishing guidance, but we do not need legislation to make that happen.
Regarding the noble Lord’s Amendment 257F, the exemptions to the duty have been carefully selected to allow local highways authorities to deal with trees which cause immediate issues, such as by posing immediate danger. Providing highways authorities with powers to create further exemptions would undermine the purpose and existence of the duty, as they could then create exemptions that were not in the spirit of the legislation. This amendment could therefore undermine protection for trees and lead to further unpopular and unnecessary felling of valuable street trees.
I agree with those noble Lords who spoke about the importance of trees as carbon sinks. However, just as important for carbon storage are our peatlands, and I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Jones of Whitchurch, for raising this via Amendment 283. The Government have invested over £8 million in peatland restoration this year. We recently launched our four-year nature for climate peatland grant scheme, a new competitive capital grant scheme for peat restoration, and we intend to invest over £50 million in peatland restoration by 2025. We have also committed to exploring the environmental and economic case for extending peat protections further still, in the England Peat Action Plan that was published in May. The Government are working to comprehensively map England’s peatlands by 2024, to inform this position.
I heard the argument put forward by my noble friend Lord Caithness about the flood-prevention qualities of peatlands. He declared with great confidence that the value is not there, but I respectfully say to him that the science is absolutely clear that healthy peatlands prevent the flow of surface water and increase the land’s ability to absorb and hold water. The impact in terms of reduced flood risk is measurable and significant.
We have also committed to exploring the environmental and economic case for extending those peat protections further. The Government are committed to protecting deep peat habitats through the Heather and Grass etc. Burning (England) Regulations 2021, which a number of noble Lords mentioned. These regulations prohibit burning on blanket bog in our most protected sites,
but they also specify limited purposes for which a licence to burn may be granted, where landowners need to manage the risk of wildfire. For example, those exemptions would no longer be possible under the noble Baroness’s amendment, and we are therefore unable to support it.
However, I reassure the noble Baroness that I share her intention to protect these vital ecosystems. The new regulations will protect approximately 140,000 hectares of England’s upland deep peat from further damage from managed burning—this represents 90% of our SSSI-designated blanket bog habitat and 40% of our upland deep peat.
Finally, on the issue of the use of peat in horticulture, which has also been raised by a number of noble Lords, including the noble Lord, Lord Teverson, we have always been clear about the need to end the use of peat in horticultural products. We want the transition to be as seamless as possible for the sector, but, in truth, our voluntary approach has not succeeded. In the England Peat Action Plan, we have committed to publishing this year the full consultation on banning the sale of peat and peat-containing products in the amateur sector by the end of this Parliament.
The Government share the commitment of all those who spoke on the need to protect our trees and valuable peatlands. I hope that I have been able to reassure noble Lords on their points and that they feel able not to press their amendments.