§ Mrs. EwingTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what representations he has received, and what discussions he has held, in respect of increasing forestry in(a) Scotland, (b) Wales and (c) England;
(2) what plans he has for increasing forestry in (a) Scotland, (b) Wales and (c) England.
§ Sir Hector Monro[holding answer 9 February 1993]: I have had many representations on the need for increasing forestry in Britain. The Government made clear their support for
a steady expansion of tree cover to increase the many, diverse benefits that forests provide853W in a statement published in September 1991 under the title "Forestry Policy for Great Britain", a copy of which is in the Library of the House. This continues to be our policy, and we shall be reviewing the effectiveness of the incentives currently available for forestry investment in accordance with the commitment we gave in our election manifesto. This review will be completed later this year.
§ Mrs. EwingTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what percentage of afforestation in Great Britain has been in Scotland each year since 1981; and how much of this has been coniferous.
§ Sir Hector Monro[holding answer 9 February 1993]: The information is given in the following table.
Year ended 31 March Area afforested in Scotland as percentage of area in Britain Area of conifers planted as percentage of total area planted in Scotland 1982 89 100 1983 85 99 1984 87 99 1985 89 99 1986 91 99 1987 91 97 1988 90 95 1989 90 93 1990 78 84 1991 74 80 1992 74 78
§ Mrs. EwingTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many hectares of forest have been planted each year in(a) Scotland, (b) Wales and (c) England without a grant from the woodland grant scheme since its introduction.
§ Sir Hector Monro[holding answer 9 February 1993]: The Forestry Commission's estimates of the area of new woodlands planted without grant-aid each year since the woodland grant scheme was introduced are given in the table.
(hectares) Year ended 31 March Scotland Wales England Total 1989 38 22 136 196 1990 2 4 185 191 1991 0 3 134 137 1992 0 4 119 123
1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 Number of applications approved Grants paid (£ thousand) Number of applications approved Grants paid (£ thousand) Number of applications approved Grants paid (£ thousand) Number of applications approved Grants paid (£ thousand) Scotland 698 222 1,436 5,026 1,218 6,509 697 6,926 Wales 290 25 348 406 347 463 283 621 England 2,233 382 3,688 4,773 2,935 6,527 2,273 7,048 Total 3,221 629 5,472 10,205 4,500 13,499 3,253 14,595