§ Mr. VazTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to ensure that the Countryside Commission has adequate funds to enable it to respond in an effective manner to tree replacement programmes in England and Wales.
§ Mr. Heathcoat AmoryTotal grant-in-aid to the Countryside Commission for the forthcoming financial year has been increased to £25.136 million. This sum includes provision of £2.88 million for the work of the commission's special unit—task force trees—set up to assist replacement planting of amenity trees lost in the storms of October 1987 and January this year. The commission's general programme includes further assistance for tree planting, but it is for the commission to determine detailed allocation of its resources.