My hon. Friend makes two good points, which I will elaborate on as we make progress. Indeed, in the survey, two thirds of the public agree or strongly agree that:
“Planting more trees can help us cope with climate change by providing shade and reducing the effects of flooding”,
as my hon. Friend said. Four fifths agree or strongly agree that
“A lot more trees should be planted”.
I repeat that for the benefit of the Minister: four fifths of the public agree or strongly agree that a lot more trees should be planted.
Does tree planting matter to the people of the UK? The evidence I have just given strongly demonstrates that it does, and evidence does not come only from more than 20 years of opinion polling. The British public are right behind great charities that support tree planting, such as the Woodland Trust, Trees for Life and the John Muir Trust. Last week, an editorial in The Guardian—not my paper of choice, as has been pointed out to me—summed up our attitude to trees well:
“The British like to romanticise trees”,
it said, having earlier stated:
“We need greenery to feed the forests of our imaginations.”
I find it hard to disagree with those views.