Urgent Protection For Britain's Ash Trees

EDM number 655 in 2012-13, proposed by Grahame Morris on 30/10/2012.
Categorised under the topic of Countryside.

That this House is deeply concerned that the number of cases of the deadly ash tree disease, Chalara fraxinea, is growing, and unchecked poses a deadly serious threat to Britain's eighty million ash trees, which provide 30 per cent of all tree cover; notes that abori-specialists and scientistshave been warning Ministers of the disease for some time; understands that if Chalara fraxinea takes hold nationally, its effect on the landscape could be more devastating than the Dutch Elm Disease epidemic in the 1970s; further notes the multi-agency failure over the past two years to contain a major outbreak of Dutch Elm Disease in the East Sussex Dutch Elm Disease Control Area between Brighton and Eastbourne; believes this failure leads to further questions as to the competency of Government Ministers in acting in the best interests of Britain's forests and countryside; further notes that the Government has ignored the Forestry Commission's warnings of inadequate resources to tackle tree disease and has cut funding by 25 per cent forcing seven offices to close and cutting 250 staff; further notes that, had the Government proceeded with its plans to sell off Britain's forests, the Forestry Commission would have largely ceased to exist; condemns in the strongest possible way the incompetent, short sighted and shambolic response the Government has demonstrated in the face of a potentially huge national environmental disaster; and demands that Ministers act immediately and deploy all resources required in order to halt the spread of the deadly ash tree disease.

This motion has been signed by a total of 27 MPs.