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Written question asked by Lord Patten (Conservative) on Monday, 12 January 2015, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Monday, 26 January 2015. It was answered by Lord De Mauley (Conservative) on Tuesday, 20 January 2015 on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Forests

Question

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the acreage of land in England that was wooded at the beginning of 2015; and what they expect the acreage to be at the beginning of 2020.

Answer

Woodland statistics are published annually by the Forestry Commission. The latest available figures on woodland area in England are to 31 March 2014. These showed a total woodland area of 1,302,000 hectares (3,217,000 acres), comprising 74% broadleaves and 24% conifers.

We will be working to further increase the area of woodland over the next five years. The Government's Forestry and Woodland Policy Statement, published in 2013, set out our aspirations to increase woodland cover in England from 10% to 12% by 2060, representing an average planting rate of 5,000 hectares (12,355 acres) per year. Achieving this challenging aspiration will be dependent on Government-supported woodland creation combined with the efforts of the private and third sectors.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
HL4089
Session
2014-15
Subjects
Forests
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk