Lord CHELWOODasked Her Majesty's Government:
What is their estimate of the numbers employed by owners of private forestry schemes at the latest available date, and the number employed on 1st January 1972.
§ Lord STRABOLGIThere are no reliable figures for the numbers employed in the private sector of the forestry industry.
620WA
Lord CHELWOODasked Her Majesty's Government:
By what percentage they estimate the total planting of private forestry schemes was up or down in each of the last five years compared with the average of the previous five years; and what impact this has had on the numbers employed in the private forestry sector.
§ Lord STRABOLGIThe following table shows planting in the private sector for which Forestry Commission grants were paid during the years in question, expressed as a percentage of the average annual planting for the five years ending on 31st March 1971:
Year ending 31st March Percentage 1972 155 1973 153 1974 147 1975 137 1976 79 No reliable figures are available for the numbers employed in the private sector of the forestry industry, or the impact of planting fluctuations on them.