Cwestiwn ysgrifenedig WQ83364

Ash dieback operations fall under general tree management budgets which incorporate spending on a number of different species. It is therefore difficult to ascertain specific figures for a single species but we have supported the management of ash dieback through a number of mechanisms including:

• To April 2021 the Strategic Road Network spent approximately £5M on managing ash dieback. Over the next three years they anticipate a further spend of £11.85M to manage the impact of ash dieback on road infrastructure.

• In 2020 we provided the WLGA with £4M additional capital and £300k revenue shared across all the Local Authorities. This funding enabled remedial work such as the ash dieback operations completed in Porthkerry Country Park, Vale of Glamorgan.

• On the Welsh Government Woodland Estate, managed by Natural Resources Wales (NRW) estimates of costs are as follows:

Financial Year

Cash Cost for Contractors

20/21

£497.4k

21/22

£801k

22/23

£800k

23/24

£800k

24/25

£500k

These costs do not include NRW staff costs for managing surveys and operations or any tree health team costs. Costs for the next 3 years are estimated and an assumption is being made for a slow-down in work requirements at high risk sites on NRW managed land due to previous clearance of infected ash trees.

• In 2020 the National Forest Programme created the Forestry Industry Recovery Scheme which provided £2.5M to support businesses involved in managing ash dieback, the management of woodlands and increasing the capacity of the nursery sector which may have been impacted by Covid-19.

• In 2021 the Timber Business Investment Support (TBIS) Grant Scheme made available £2M to fund forestry and arboricultural businesses that deal with ash dieback along with other areas of forestry such as tree planting.

In terms of identifying future spend, the deep dive into forestry led by the Deputy Minister for Climate Change found the need to, “Develop support mechanisms to bring unmanaged woodlands into good economic and environmental condition”, ash dieback will of course form part of these considerations.

In addition, officials are working with NRW to produce guidance to help land managers and regulators manage ash dieback. Stakeholder engagement will be critically important part of this process to ensure the guidance delivers the practical needs of Ash Dieback and we will be engaging with them shortly. We will then seek to publish the guidance as soon as practically possible in early 2022.