Guidance: Biosecure Procurement Requirement Pilot for plants and trees

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Forestry Commission

July 11

14:12 2023

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A commitment was made within the England Trees Action Plan to introduce a new biosecure procurement requirement for suppliers of plants and trees to government grants and contracts. This means that suppliers will need to demonstrate that they can meet the Plant Health Management Standard. They can do this by providing one of two types of evidence.

Evidence can be either

Category A:

current membership of the Plant Healthy Certification Scheme or official application and fees paid to join the Plant Healthy Certification Scheme, with full certification achieved within one year

Category B:

successful Ready to Plant Assessment by Fera Science Ltd. for the consignment

This new biosecure procurement requirement, that will make sure our green spaces are better protected from pests and diseases, is currently being trialled for the:

Those supplying trees under EWCO or the Tree Health Pilot must already meet the biosecurity requirements set out within Plant Health Management Standard.

From 1 July 2023, all new applicants to LATF, UTCF and HS2 WF (for planting during the 2024/25 winter season and beyond) must use suppliers who can demonstrate they can meet the Plant Health Management Standard. Pipeline applications will not be affected.

Therefore, suppliers intending to supply trees under the LATF, UTCF, HS2 WF grant schemes, who are not already Plant Healthy certified, will need to think about applying for either Plant Healthy Certification (annual certification) or a Ready to Plant Assessment (for the planting stock they intend to supply to each grant application). The Category A or Category B evidence listed above is required at point of post-planting claim, to demonstrate that at the point of purchase the supplier met the Plant Health Management Standard.

Applying for an exception from the Biosecure Procurement requirement

If you are not purchasing your trees from a commercial supplier, you should complete the Biosecure Procurement requirement exception form and return it with your grant application.