Autumn Budget: No fresh money set aside for woodland creation

In the first Labour Budget since 2010 – and the first ever delivered by a woman – Chancellor Rachel Reeves promised to “invest, invest, invest” as she made sweeping changes to national insurance contributions,  capital gains tax and inheritance tax. 

However, mention of forestry and tree care was lacking. While Defra's budget is due to marginally rise in real terms year-on-year, the only reference of trees came in a pledge to "to invest £400 million in capital across 2024-25 and 2025-26 for tree planting and peatland restoration".  Forestry Journal has since been told this money will come from the existing Nature for Climate Fund and it is unknown at this time how much of that will go towards woodland creation (and not peatland restoration). 

While planting rates have risen in England over the last few years, they are still well short of Defra's annual 7,500-hectare, with most woodland creation in the country consisting of broadleaved species. 

• READ MORE: UK tree-planting rates reach modern-day high in 2023/24

This latest blow to the sector comes after the Scottish Government cut more than £30 million from forestry's budget and amid continued financial struggles at Natural Resources Wales, which has previously announced it could axe at least 250 jobs. 

Ms Reeves told the Commons: “This is not the first time that it has fallen to the Labour Party to rebuild Britain.

“In 1945, it was the Labour party that rebuilt our country out of the rubble of the Second World War. In 1964, it was the Labour Party that rebuilt Britain with the white heat of technology. And in 1997, it was the Labour Party that rebuilt our schools and our hospitals.

England's environment secretary, Steve Reed (Image: PA)

“Today, it falls to this Labour Party, this Labour Government to rebuild Britain once again.”

According to the Forestry Commission's latest financial accounts (last published in 2023), Defra provided 99 per cent of all of the department's funding. The FC then provides an annual subsidy to Forestry England, which has been substantially cut in recent years. 

Much of the Defra budget cut is due to fall on nature and flooding funding, with the Guardian reporting environment secretary Steve Reed "was keen to offer up parts of the Defra budget when the chancellor was looking for cuts". Mr Reed did not deny this in a statement to the paper. 

Elsewhere, Ms Reeves confirmed employers’ national insurance contributions will rise by 1.2 percentage points to 15 per cent in April 2025, and the threshold for paying them will fall from £9,100 per year to £5,000. 

Speaking in parliament on Wednesday, the Chancellor said every Budget she delivers will be “focused on our mission to grow the economy”, saying the key pillars of the Government’s strategy include seeking to “restore economic stability”.

She added increasing investment and building new infrastructure is “vital for productivity”.

Ms Reeves, turning to the fiscal rules, said: “I am confirming those today – our stability rule and our investment rule.

“The stability rule means we will bring the current Budget into balance so that we do not borrow to fund day-to-day spending. We will meet this rule in 2029-30 until that becomes the third year of the forecast.

The Defra budget cut comes amid England's continued failure to hit its annual planting target (Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

“From then on, we will balance the current budget in the third year at every budget, held annually each autumn.”

Ms Reeves said this will provide a “tougher constraint” on day-to-day spending to ensure “difficult decisions cannot be constantly delayed or deferred”.