§ Sir C. Osborneasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what has been the profit or loss shown by the Forestry Commission allowing for all overheads in each of the last five years.
§ Mr. PeartIn the year ended 30th September, 1966, the deficit on the Profit and Loss Account for the operations of the Forestry Commission as a forestry enterprise was £1,621,551.
It must be borne in mind that forestry is a very long-term investment and that the Commission's forests are still in course of development. Paragraphs 33–35 of the Commission's Annual Report for 1966 explain the factors governing their financial results and the form which their accounts take.
244WComparable figures are not available for previous years because the form of the accounts has just been reorganised in line with the Estimates Committee's recommendation.