§ Mr. Turtonasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what reduction in gross annual income he expects British forestry to suffer as the result of the lower prices of both hardwood and softwood mining timber under the current agreement with the National Coal Board, assuming the same total quantities purchased by the National Coal Board as in the previous year; and what proportion of such reduction will be suffered by the Forestry Commission and private forestry, respectively.
§ Mr. Scott-HopkinsIt is not possible to assess the change in gross annual income earned by British forestry as a result of the lower prices of hardwood and softwood mining timber, because the national price agreements are between the timber trade and the National Coal Board. The bulk of home supplies to the National Coal Board are prepared and delivered by the trade and it is not known how much of the reduction in the price of the finished product will be passed down by the timber trade to the private woodland owners and the Forestry Commission who together supply the raw material.
163WIn any case it would not be right to assume that the quantity purchased by the National Coal Board would be the same as in the previous year. The Board hope to increase the proportion of their purchases of home-grown timber, despite the fall in their total consumption, although this has been delayed on account of the bad weather earlier in the year.