§ Mr. Chris SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will carry out an investigation into the offering of tracts of Forestry Commission land to various conservation bodies; and if he will make a statement.
§ Sir Hector MonroI refer the hon. Member to my letter to him of 16 November, a copy of which has been placed in the Library.
§ Mr. Alex CarlileTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make it his policy to ensure that the freedom to roam on any currently available Forestry Commission land will not be placed in jeopardy following the report of the forestry review group; and if he will make a statement.
§ Sir Hector MonroThe remit of the forestry review group includes the request that it should make proposals for changes which would improve the effectiveness of the874W delivery of the Government's forestry policy objectives, having regard to the Government's other economic and environmental policies.
Such objectives and policies include the practice of the Forestry Commission in encouraging public access to woodlands as set out in "Forestry Policy for Great Britain", copies of which are in the library.
Ministers are well aware of the importance to many people of access and therefore, have asked the review group to take this into account when developing its advice.
§ Mrs. Helen JacksonTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make it his policy, following the report of the forestry review group, to maintain the freedom to roam on any Forestry Commission land currently available in(a) the Sheffield, Hillsborough constituency and (b) elsewhere in Britain.
§ Sir Hector MonroMinisters are conscious of the importance to many people of access to Forestry Commission land including land in the hon. Member's constituency. They have therefore asked the review group to take the issue of public access fully into account when developing its advice.
§ Mr. RichardsTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list all Forestry Commission woods in Scotland by region; and which woods are to be placed for sale under the current disposals programme.
§ Sir Hector Monro[holding answer 13 December 1993]: The Forestry Commission manages the following areas of land in Scotland:
Region Area (hectares) Borders 30,853 Central 29,850 Dumfries and Galloway 101,258 Fife 4,780 Grampian 61,555 Highland 236,983 Lothian 1,650 Orkney 9 Strathclyde 201,738 Tayside 40,084 Western Isles 867 Details of individual forests and woodlands are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. I have, however, made arrangements for a map showing the location of the individual areas to be placed in the Library as soon as possible.
The areas of forest land in Scotland currently being offered for sale by the Forestry Commission on the open market are as follows:
875W
Region and Name Area (hectares) Dumfries and Galloway Glaik 63 Grampian Barlatch 3 Craigmuir Wood 34 Crimond Hill 25 Cruchie Wood 7 Haremoss 19 Hillend Moss 16 Lauchentilly Moss 30
Region and Name Area(hectares) Longhill 120 Moreseat of Hatton 38 Mormond Hill 255 New Pitsligo (2 lots) 42 Whitestones 5 Highland Ardelve 26 Balmore (Main Road) 40 Clava and Craggie (Lot 1) 33 Croftdhu 14 Dhivach (North) 45 Dhivach (South) 77 Dundonnell 312 Eilean Darach 110 Fain (Cpt 2038) 22 Fain South (Cpt 2037) 4 Score Farm and Roadside Strips 17 Storr (East) 79 Strathclyde Aucheneden 538 Achentorlie 439 Auchindrain 234 Carrick 2 Daljarrock 52 Dalsmirren (part) 1,094 Garrochoran 192 Highs Ugadale 21 Inverneill 102 Loch Sween 179 Merkins/Knockupple 587 Moss Priory 71 Scoor and Beech (Lot 5) 360 Tayside Aukleeks 358 Keillour 11
§ Mr. TippingTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if he will list, for each separate piece of land currently owned or leased by the Forestry Commission in the Central, Dumfries and Galloway, Fife, Grampian and Highland regions(a) its name and (b) its area in hectares; and whether he will place a map in the Library which names and identifies each of these pieces of land;
(2) if he will list for each separate piece of land currently owned or leased by the Forestry Commission in the Borders (a) its name and (b) its area in hectares; and if he will place a map in the Library which names and identifies each of these pieces of land;
(3) if he will list for each separate piece of land currently owned or leased by the Forestry Commission in Lothian, Orkney, Shetlands, Strathclyde, Tayside and Western Isles regions (a) its name and (b) its area in hectares; and whether he will place a map in the Library which names and identifies each of these pieces of land.
§ Sir Hector Monro[holding answer 8 December 1993]: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Clwyd, North-West (Mr. Richards) earlier today.
§ Mr. WorthingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what publicly owned woodland in the Clydebank and Milngavie constituency has been put on sale in each of the past five years; and what areas are planned to be put on sale.
§ Sir Hector Monro[holding answer 13 December 1993]: Lists giving details of the areas of forest land sold 876W by the Forestry Commission in each region from the start of the disposals programme in July 1981 to December 1992 are held in the Library of the House. A list of the forest land sold by the Commission in 1993 will be drawn up and placed in the Library in the new year.
Aucheneden—538 hectares—is the only commission woodland currently on the market in the hon. Member's constituency.
Mr. Paddy TippigTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland in respect of which areas of Forestry Commission land assurances have been issued that they will not be privatised; and according to what criteria these decisions are made.
§ Sir Hector Monro[holding answer 25 November 1993]: Ministers will await the advice of the forestry review group before considering what action, if any, should be taken in respect of the ownership and management of Forestry Commission woodlands.
§ Mr. Chris SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what consultation there has been in relation to the national forest plan to be published shortly.
§ Sir Hector MonroSince we did not wish the plan to pre-empt the findings of the forestry review group or to prejudice our decisions on the group's recommendations, we decided it would not be practical for the plan to go beyond drawing together the various strands of the Government's present forestry policy and programmes.
We concluded, therefore, that there would be little benefit in consulting publicly before publishing the plan. Instead, we will be inviting comments on the plan after it has been published.