Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress his Department is making in encouraging the planting of trees in towns and cities; and if he will make a statement. [139040]

Mr Heath, Minister of State: The Big Tree Plant, launched in 2010, is a coalition Government commitment to plant 1 million new trees throughout England by 2015. The campaign encourages and supports community groups to plant trees in neighbourhoods where people live and work. It helps improve the quality of life of those living in England's towns, cities and residential areas by making neighbourhoods more attractive, healthy places to live, especially in areas of greatest deprivation or where there is little greenery.

The campaign is a partnership bringing together national tree-planting organisations and local groups working with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Forestry Commission, with the Forestry Commission providing £4.0 million of grant funding.

To date, the campaign has seen over 239,000 trees planted across the country with £3.4 million of the £4.0 million funding already allocated to 128 groups who will be planting over 813,000 trees by 2015. 8,000 of these will be street trees and over £7.0 million of match funding has been identified by applicants so far.

In addition, the Forestry Commission is providing technical support for the London Mayor's Street Tree programme. The previous programme saw the planting of 10,000 new trees and the current programme aims to plant a further 10,000 new trees across the capital by March 2015.

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