Official bodies for tree work in United Kingdom
Official bodies and official schemes in the United Kingdom that matter to tree workers, grouped by what they do. Each row links to the body's own page.
Checked against the sources at the bottom of this page on October 8, 2026. Rules, fees and pay change: the source has the last word.
This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here.
On this page
- Workplace safety regulators
- Workers' compensation and injury cover
- Licences for tree work and felling
- Pesticide licensing
- Plant health and biosecurity
- Plant disease and insect diagnostic labs
- Forestry and urban forestry
- Utility tree work and vegetation management
- Qualifications and apprenticeships
- Standards bodies
- Underground utility locate centres
- Emergency management and civil defence
- Business registration and company registries
- Tax offices
Workplace safety regulators
| Body | Covers | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Arboriculture and Forestry Advisory Group (AFAG), HSE | Great Britain | Advisory group of the Agriculture Industry Advisory Committee at HSE, with members from industry, HSE and the trade unions, that tackles specific forestry and arboriculture safety issues. |
| Health and Safety Executive (HSE) | Great Britain | HSE's main site, with health and safety guidance by industry and topic, including pesticides and RIDDOR. |
| RIDDOR (HSE) | Great Britain | HSE pages on reportable incidents, how a RIDDOR report is made online or by telephone, and the records kept. |
| Tree work (HSE) | Great Britain | HSE tree work pages covering safety hazards such as aerial work and chainsaws, site management, training and health topics. |
| Accident reporting (HSENI) | Northern Ireland | Explains the legal duty to report work deaths, major injuries, diseases and dangerous occurrences in Northern Ireland. |
| Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI) | Northern Ireland | Lead body for promoting and enforcing workplace health and safety standards in Northern Ireland. |
Workers' compensation and injury cover
| Body | Covers | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969: A brief guide for employers (HSE40) | Great Britain | HSE leaflet explaining that employers are required by law to insure against liability for injury or disease to their employees, and who needs this insurance. |
| Employers' liability insurance (GOV.UK) | Great Britain | Government guidance that an employer must have employers' liability insurance covering at least £5 million from an authorised insurer. |
| Employers' liability insurance (HSE) | Great Britain | HSE page saying a business with employees will probably need employers' liability insurance to help pay compensation if an employee is injured or made ill by their work. |
| Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (GOV.UK) | Great Britain | Benefit for people made ill or disabled by an accident or disease at work or on an approved employment training scheme or course. |
| Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (nidirect) | Northern Ireland | Northern Ireland benefit for people ill or disabled from a work accident or disease, claimed through the Department for Communities. |
| Insurance (HSENI) | Northern Ireland | HSENI page on compulsory employers' liability insurance for those who employ staff in Northern Ireland, with £5 million minimum cover. |
Licences for tree work and felling
| Body | Covers | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Tree Preservation Orders and trees in conservation areas (GOV.UK) | England | Government guidance on the legislation governing work on trees under a Tree Preservation Order or in a conservation area in England. |
| When a felling licence is needed (Forestry Commission) | England | Says a free felling licence from the Forestry Commission is needed to fell growing trees in England unless an exemption applies. |
| Felling licences (DAERA) | Northern Ireland | Northern Ireland page saying owners of private woodland of 0.2 hectares or more need a licence to fell trees, issued through the Forest Service. |
| Felling permission (Scottish Forestry) | Scotland | Scottish Forestry page on felling permission in Scotland, which is required unless the work is exempt. |
| Felling licence guidance (Natural Resources Wales) | Wales | Natural Resources Wales page saying the correct licence must be in place before felling work starts. |
Pesticide licensing
| Body | Covers | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| List of UK designated bodies and recognised specified certificates (HSE) | Whole UK | Official list of the awarding bodies and certificates recognised as proof of competence for professional pesticide use. |
| Pesticides (HSE) | Whole UK | HSE pesticides pages on registering work involving pesticides, use, storage and disposal, and reporting incidents. |
| Code of Practice for Using Plant Protection Products (HSE) | England | Code for all professional pesticide users in England and Wales, which can be used as evidence in court for offences. |
| Code of Practice for using plant protection products (DAERA) | Northern Ireland | Northern Ireland code on using pesticides and plant protection products safely and meeting the legal conditions. |
| Pesticides: code of practice for using plant protection products in Scotland (Scottish Government) | Scotland | Scottish Government code on who must be trained and hold a certificate of competence for professional pesticide use, including in forestry. |
| Code of Practice for Using Plant Protection Products (HSE) | Wales | Code for all professional pesticide users in England and Wales. |
Plant health and biosecurity
| Body | Covers | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) | Whole UK | Executive agency sponsored by Defra and the Welsh and Scottish Governments; the Welsh Government page names it for reporting plant pests. |
| UK Plant Health Information Portal | Whole UK | Government hub with data and resources on plant pests and diseases, with a page for reporting a pest or disease. |
| Plant health controls (Defra and APHA) | England | Defra and APHA guidance on plant health controls, imports and exports, plant passporting and listed quarantine pests. |
| TreeAlert (Forest Research) | Great Britain | Service for reporting suspected tree pests and diseases found anywhere in Great Britain. |
| Plant and Tree Health (DAERA) | Northern Ireland | DAERA hub for pests and diseases, plant passporting, imports and exports, and surveys in Northern Ireland. |
| Managing tree health (Scottish Forestry) | Scotland | Scottish Forestry guidance on preventing and adapting to tree pests and diseases. |
| Reporting tree pests and disease (Scottish Forestry) | Scotland | Scottish Forestry page directing reports of suspected tree pests and disease in Scotland to TreeAlert. |
| Plant and tree health (Welsh Government) | Wales | Welsh Government overview naming the trained inspectors from Natural Resources Wales, Forestry Commission and APHA who survey for pests. |
| Reporting plant and tree pests and diseases (Welsh Government) | Wales | Welsh Government page directing reports of tree pests to TreeAlert and plant pests to APHA. |
Plant disease and insect diagnostic labs
| Body | Covers | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Tree Health Diagnostic and Advisory Service (Forest Research) | Great Britain | Forest Research service that gives advice and, where possible, diagnosis and identification of tree pests and pathogens. |
Forestry and urban forestry
| Body | Covers | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| The UK Forestry Standard (Forestry Commission) | Whole UK | The technical standard for sustainable forest management across the UK, applying to all woodland. |
| Forestry Commission | England | Non-ministerial government department that increases the value of woodlands to society and the environment; its guidance covers woodland creation and management in England. |
| Forestry England | England | Looks after the nation's forests in England, managing woodland and producing sustainable timber. |
| Forest Research | Great Britain | Great Britain's principal organisation for forestry and tree-related research. |
| Forest Service (DAERA) | Northern Ireland | Northern Ireland forestry agency within DAERA, with a remit that includes plant health. |
| Scottish Forestry | Scotland | Scottish Government agency responsible for forestry policy, support and regulations. |
Utility tree work and vegetation management
| Body | Covers | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Avoiding danger from overhead power lines, GS6 (HSE) | Great Britain | HSE guidance note for people planning work near overhead lines where there is a risk of contact with the wires. |
| Electricity Safety, Quality and Continuity Regulations 2002, regulation 20A (legislation.gov.uk) | Great Britain | Duty on generators and distributors, so far as reasonably practicable, to avoid supply interruption caused by too little clearance between overhead lines and trees or other vegetation. |
Qualifications and apprenticeships
| Body | Covers | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Arborist apprenticeship standard (Skills England) | England | Skills England page for the Arborist apprenticeship standard, naming the rope-and-harness and aerial rescue award it accepts. |
| Register of Regulated Qualifications (Ofqual) | England | Official register of regulated vocational and other qualifications in England and Northern Ireland. |
| Getting started on the Apprenticeship programme (nidirect) | Northern Ireland | Northern Ireland government guidance on ApprenticeshipsNI and Higher Level Apprenticeships. |
| Register of Regulated Qualifications (Ofqual) | Northern Ireland | The register also lists vocational qualifications regulated in Northern Ireland. |
| Apprenticeships.scot (Skills Development Scotland) | Scotland | Scotland's official apprenticeship site with Modern Apprenticeship information for employers and apprentices. |
| Qualifications Scotland Accreditation (formerly SQA Accreditation) | Scotland | Scotland's qualifications regulator; renamed from SQA Accreditation on 1 February 2026, and liaises with Skills Development Scotland on apprenticeship approval. |
| Apprenticeships (Welsh Government) | Wales | Welsh Government apprenticeship pages on becoming, finding and recruiting an apprentice. |
| Qualifications Wales | Wales | Independent regulator for non-degree qualifications in Wales offered by recognised awarding bodies. |
Standards bodies
| Body | Covers | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| BS 3998: Tree work. Recommendations (BSI) | Whole UK | BSI's listing for the British Standard BS 3998 on tree work, published 31 December 2010. |
| BSI, the UK national standards body | Whole UK | Body appointed by the government to develop British Standards and represent UK interests in standards development at European and global level. |
Underground utility locate centres
| Body | Covers | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Linesearch Before U Dig (LSBUD) | Whole UK | Free-to-use service providing utility asset maps, open to anyone doing works likely to break ground of any scale. |
| Avoiding danger from underground services, HSG47 (HSE) | Great Britain | HSE guidance for those commissioning, planning, managing and carrying out work on or near underground services. |
Emergency management and civil defence
| Body | Covers | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Met Office, UK weather warnings | Whole UK | National weather service page with warnings for rain, wind, snow, ice, fog, thunderstorm, lightning and extreme heat. |
| Check for flooding (GOV.UK) | England | Government service for flood warnings or alerts and river, sea, groundwater and rainfall levels in England. |
| The Executive Office, Civil Contingencies | Northern Ireland | Civil Contingencies Policy Branch works across the public sector to encourage effective emergency preparedness. |
| Ready Scotland | Scotland | Scottish Government campaign with practical steps to prepare for emergencies and protect yourself and your community. |
| Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), flooding | Scotland | SEPA is the national flood forecasting, flood warning and strategic flood management authority for Scotland. |
| Natural Resources Wales, flooding | Wales | Welsh Government sponsored body's pages on flood risk, what to do during a flood and how to sign up for flood alerts. |
Business registration and company registries
| Body | Covers | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Companies House | Whole UK | Government body that incorporates and dissolves limited companies and makes company information public. |
| Set up a business (GOV.UK) | Whole UK | Government guidance on choosing a legal structure, including the differences between a sole trader and a limited company. |
| Starting a business (nibusinessinfo.co.uk) | Northern Ireland | Northern Ireland business guides on starting up, with themes covering finance, taxes, employment and health and safety. |
Tax offices
| Body | Covers | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) | Whole UK | The UK's tax, payments and customs authority. |
Sources
- Met Office, UK weather warnings, read October 8, 2026
- GOV.UK, Check for flooding, read October 8, 2026
- Health and Safety Executive, home page, read October 6, 2026
- Welsh Government, plant and tree health overview, read October 6, 2026
- GOV.UK, Forestry Commission organisation page, read October 6, 2026
- Qualifications Scotland Accreditation (formerly SQA Accreditation), external stakeholders page, read October 6, 2026
- legislation.gov.uk, Electricity Safety, Quality and Continuity Regulations 2002, read October 8, 2026