§ Mr. Barry JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales what steps he is taking to ensure that more deciduous trees will be planted; and if he will make a statement. [47914]
§ Mr. Win GriffithsWe are fully committed to increasing the area of woodland in Wales, including deciduous woodland. Our grant-aid encourages the planting of deciduous trees and over 80 per cent. of the new woodland created in Wales in the past five years is deciduous. Moreover, the UK Forestry Standard, which we launched earlier this year, specifies that any new conifer woodland should include a proportion of deciduous trees. In addition, we have recently announced Challenge Funds for creating woodlands on bracken land and for new native woodlands in National Parks. In both cases, initial responses have been encouraging and much of the woodland planted under these initiatives will be deciduous.