Tree Planting: Origin Checks (Hansard, 13 June 2000)

Baroness Sharpies
asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether proper checks are being made by the Forestry Commission on the origins of tree saplings being planted by it and others.

§ The Minister of State, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Baroness Hayman)
My Lords, the Forestry Commission checks the source of all the trees it plants itself to ensure that the most suitable seed has been used. For trees planted by others with grant aid from the Forestry Commission, the commission checks the source of the trees wherever necessary. For example, the commission often includes a condition when grant-aiding broad-leaved and native Scots pine woodland which specifies that only plants grown from locally collected seed can be used.

§ Baroness Sharples
My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness for that reply. Is she aware that imports from continental suppliers often include trees from countries where the climate is completely different from our own? Is she further aware that in the national forest in Leicestershire, trees have been planted using unsuitable products from Hungary?

§ Baroness Hayman
My Lords, the National Forest Company, has, I understand, today announced that more than 3 million trees have now been planted and that many of the partners in that exercise, for example, the Woodland Trust, specify the use of native origin trees. Two issues arise here. The first, regulation, has been tackled at EU level. A new directive now in place extends the number of species upon which we shall be able to take action against imports should adverse effects be found. Secondly, we must consider the issue of supply. I understand that with some broad-leaved species, the native supply is not adequate to meet demand.

§ Lord Hylton
My Lords, does the Minister accept that during the 20 to 30 years after the Second World War, the Forestry Commission undertook a great deal of work on the provenance of particular trees and identified their superior strains? Will she ensure that that work, which has been completed, is not lost, either in the present or in the future?

§ Baroness Hayman
My Lords, I agree that such work is extremely important. Some 95 per cent of the trees planted by the Forestry Commission are grown from seed collected in Britain. The commission carefully selects trees that are best suited to its requirements, usually gathering seeds from its own seed stands. For native woodland, it uses locally 1515 collected seed. Equally, in terms of the grant aid, which is now at an all-time high, it has extended, on a voluntary basis, initiatives to encourage owners to use locally collected seed in native woodland that has conservation value. The commission is continuing to work hard in this area.

§ Lord Tebbit
My Lords, are there any circumstances, perhaps relating to species, in which it would be illegal for the Forestry Commission or others to discriminate against trees from the European Union?

§ Baroness Hayman
My Lords, I understand that the directive, which gives member states powers to control imports, has been extended. Previously it covered only the main conifer species and three broad-leaved trees: oak, beech and poplar. The directive now allows us to ban the sale of material which would have an adverse effect on forestry and the environment, genetic resources or biodiversity. We have the necessary powers in place.

§ Baroness Sharples
My Lords, does the noble Baroness agree that the grants made available for tree planting are not at all generous? Perhaps the grants offered for plantings where the origin of the seed is definitely known could be rather more generous?

§ Baroness Hayman
My Lords, as I said, we have achieved an all-time high level of grant for woodland planting schemes at £40 million. Under the England rural development plan we foresee a 26 per cent increase in the woodland grant scheme budget and a 75 per cent increase in the farm woodland premium scheme budget. That means that we shall be able to take further action on forest regeneration and conservation. Equally, I hope that I have been able to reassure the House that we shall ensure that plantings are appropriate to meet local needs.

§ Lord Pearson of Rannoch
My Lords, can the Minister give the House an assurance that we are free to carry on planting indigenous oak trees in this country without any interference from the European Union?

§ Baroness Hayman
My Lords, I believe that I can give that assurance. However, I should tell the noble Lord that we have encountered a problem as regards oak trees. They produce seeds only irregularly in Britain, averaging around one-half of our total requirement. That is why we need to import acorns and beechmasts, or young trees grown from seed. It is not a matter of our not being allowed to ban imports; rather it is that we do not have sufficient native production of the necessary quality to ensure an adequate replacement of oak trees.