HC Deb 12 August 1966 vol 733 cc475-6W
Mr. Elystan Morgan

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how many factories there are in Wales working exclusively or substantially on Forestry Commission plantations; and what proposals he has for increasing this number in the foreseeable future.

Mr. George Thomas

To the best of the Forestry Commission's knowledge no factories in Wales depend exclusively on the Commission's plantations. But two large timber-processing factories and about 20 sawmills do so substantially. Any increase in this number is a matter for industry; but in the Commission's view the existing timber-using industries are capable of expansion to absorb all the increasing production from Welsh forests in the foreseeable future.