To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs what steps his Department is taking increase woodland resilience to climate change, including extreme weather events.

My Department promotes sustainable forestry in line with its responsibilities under the Forestry Act. Forest Service delivers this responsibility through its development and implementation of sustainable forestry management plans in line with UK Government’s approach to sustainable forestry, set out in the UK Forestry Standard.

Inherent within the Standard is the recognition of the risks and opportunities for forest policy, forest ecosystems and impacts of climate change. Risks include increases in tree mortality, wild fire, extreme weather events and pest and disease outbreaks. However, there are opportunities to increase woodland resilience through the use of a wider range of tree species that can be grown.

Sustainable and resilient forests are developed and safeguarded by long-term forest design planning that fully incorporates best information regarding impacts of climate change on trees and woodlands. In selecting appropriate tree species with best potential to thrive, forest ecosystems can be sustained whilst coping with new and emerging threats resulting from a changing climate.

In the past year I have added a new Small Woodland Grant Scheme, particularly designed to encourage the wider use of native tree species in establishing more diverse and resilient woodlands.