§ 22. Colonel Gomme-Duncanasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps have been taken, or are contemplated, for ensuring that the activities of the Forestry Commission in Scotland are closely co-ordinated with the needs and interests of farming.
§ Mr. WoodburnCo-ordination of forestry and agriculture was secured by the Forestry Act, 1945, which placed responsibility for both services on the same Minister—in Scotland the Secretary of State.
§ Colonel Gomme-DuncanIs the Minister aware that farming districts in Scotland, particularly in the Centre and the North, are anxious about this matter, 1772 because co-ordination is not really taking place and there are counter-claims between agriculture and forestry which ought to be correlated very carefully?
§ Mr. WoodburnI can only think that the hon. and gallant Member has been misinformed, because any such difficulty comes immediately to me as Secretary of State for Scotland, and is settled in accordance with the needs of agriculture, taking forestry needs into account.