§ 47. Mr. Jasper Moreasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the capital investment in forestry in the winter of 1974–75 and 1973–74; and what was the acreage of new land purchased for planting trees in 1974–75 and 1973–74.
§ Mr. Strang:Total expenditure by the Forestry Commission on the establishment of plantations in 1973–74 was £1,621,651, and during the nine months ending December 1974, £1,533,960, ex
millions of £ Year ended 31st March 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 Scotland … … … … 16.8 19.3 21.7 21.7 16.2 England … … … … 15.9 15.2 17.3 17.8 11.1 Wales … … … … 8.2 10.0 11.5 11.8 7.4 Great Britain … … … 40.9 44.5 50.5 51.3 34..7
The statistics relate to all the Forestry Commission's net expenditure and include provision for depreciation, pensions and gratuities and other overheads. They also include grants to private woodland owners and other services.The figures for the year ended 31st March 1974 were compiled after the reconstruction of the commission's accounts provided for in the recent review of forestry policy. The changes in compilation involved writing off accumulated interest and the introduction of subsidies. The figures for previous years cannot be revised to accord with the new method of compilation.