Forestry in England and the closure of Wykeham nursery

That this House believes that increasing both biodiversity and the volume of new tree planting is an essential part of any strategy to reach the UK's net zero target in carbon emissions; is concerned to learn that on 17 March 2021 Forestry Commission trade unions and nursery staff were informed of the decision to restructure Plant and Seed Supply (PSS) and to close Wykeham Nursery near Scarborough in North Yorkshire from April 2022; notes that undermining public sector forestry in England will increase dependency on commercial imports of live trees which are associated with an increasing risk of introducing pathogens into our domestic ecosystem, with the potential to decimate our landscape and risk human health; further notes that that decision will cost jobs in that deprived coastal community not only among those directly employed at that site, but also from among agency workers and other suppliers and thus stands in direct contrast to the Government’s Levelling Up agenda; and calls on the Government to intervene in order to avoid the loss of the expertise and resource that that nursery provides, at a time when there are plans for increased tree planting and to protect the environmental landscape of England.