§ Mr. Parkerasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Works and Buildings whether he has considered using for post-war building purposes the large numbers of mature oak trees standing in the fields and hedges of the Southern counties; and will he use this oak, easily available, to meet the post-war timber shortage by collaborating with the Forestry Commission to fell and condition this type of timber?
§ Mr. Harold MacmillanI have been asked to reply. The full energies of the Home Grown Timber Production Department of the Ministry of Supply and of other timber producers are now devoted to the production of timber required for essential war needs, and all available supplies of labour and machinery for timber felling are at present required for this purpose. Six million cubic feet of hedgerow timber is already licensed for felling in England and Wales.