Ash Dieback Disease

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs written question – answered at on 20 March 2017.

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Photo of Sir David Amess Sir David Amess Conservative, Southend West

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help those local authorities most affected by ash dieback.

Photo of Therese Coffey Therese Coffey The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

We are working closely with local authorities to help them deal with the impacts of ash dieback by supporting them to be prepared and by providing guidance.

Infected ash trees can survive dieback for many years, continuing to provide recreational and biodiversity benefits, and could provide a source of disease tolerance in the future. For this very reason we are not encouraging the removal of infected ash unless it poses an immediate health and safety risk.

To ensure that the issue of health and safety is addressed we have convened an ash dieback taskforce with a number of key stakeholders and local authorities, of which Suffolk, Norfolk and Kent County Council are members. We are working closely with this group to develop action plans for local authorities and supplement existing guidance for landowners, such as that published by the National Tree Safety Group.

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