Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) how many trees were killed by (a) acute oak decline, (b) Asian longhorn beetle, (c) chalara dieback of ash, (d) chestnut blight and (e) dothistroma needle blight in each of the last five years for which figures are available; [170556]

(2) how many trees were killed by (a) great spruce bark beetle, dendroctonus micans, (b) horse chestnut leaf miner, cameraria ohridella, (c) oak pinhole borer, platypus cylindrus, (d) oak processionary moth, thaumetopoea processionea, and (e) phytophthora alni in each of the last five years for which figures are available. [170557]

Dan Rogerson, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for water, forestry, rural affairs and resource management: Individual tree deaths that could be directly attributed to the pests and pathogens listed are not recorded by DEFRA or the Forestry Commission.

Many trees that have been affected by pests and diseases will be felled long before they finally die and it is often the case that trees that do die have been affected by a combination of factors over a long period. For example, a tree that suffers repeated defoliation may succumb to other environmental factors. This means that it would be very difficult to attribute the death to a single factor.

In some cases many more trees can be felled as a result of the control measures than as a result of the pest or disease. For example, for the control of Asian longhorn beetle in Kent, which appears to have been successful, 2,166 host trees were removed but only 66 were found to be infested.

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