§ Sir J. Gilmourasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what quantities of timber blown down in January, both from the Forestry Commission and from private woodlands, have now been removed; what percentage of the amount blown this represents; and what estimate he has made, in the light of this information, as to how long it will take to clear all saleable wind-blown timber in Scotland.
§ Mr. RossThe Windblow Action Group estimates that by the end of June (the latest date for which information is available) a total of 5.5 million hoppus feet had been moved. This is almost equally divided between the Forestry Commission and private woodlands, and represents 12 per cent. and 14 per cent. respectively of the amount blown down in each sector. The rate of progress is less than had been expected, but for the first few months production was mainly dependent on men and machinery already in the windblow area. These have since been supplemented, and I am hopeful that the clearance will be completed before the timber deteriorates.
§ Mr. Brewisasked the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what proportion of the timber blown down in Hurricane Low Q has now been removed and utilised; and what further proposals he has for speeding up this work, in view of the rapid deterioration of the timber;
(2) whether he will now increase the sawlog allowance to mills in the South of England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
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§ Mr. RossAs regards the proportion of timber which has been removed, I would refer the hon. Member to the Answer I gave to the hon. Member for Edinburgh, North (Earl of Dalkeith) on 24th July. I have authorised the payment of transport allowances to encourage the clearance of the timber, but the rate of progress depends essentially on the growers and the timber trade. The case for extending the sawlog allowance is under consideration.—[Vol. 769, c.131.]
Earl of Dalkeithasked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will state the quantity of sawmill timber for which transport allowances have been claimed to the end of June, 1968; and what proportion of the windblown timber this represents.
§ Mr. RossAbout half of the windblown timber is at sawmill size and to the end of June transport allowances had been claimed for 5,600 tons. While this represents only a very small proportion of the total windblown timber, it is not a significant figure at this stage since claims are necessarily in arrears of the actual movement of the timber.
Earl of Dalkeithasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what information he has received concerning the response to his appeal to woodland owners unaffected or marginally unaffected by the January hurricane to reduce felling by one-third until the end of September, 1969; and if he will state what percentage of them is known to him to be co-operating in this way.
§ Mr. RossThe Windblow Action Group has reported that about 75 per cent. of the private estates approached by the Scottish Woodland Owners' Association have agreed to reduce their future felling by a third.
Earl of Dalkeithasked the Secretary of of State for Scotland what factors are mainly responsible for the slow progress being made in clearing windblown timber and delivering it to the available markets.
Earl of Dalkeithasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what estimate he has made of the import saving potential of 264W the windblown timber in Scotland on the basis that it is used to the best advantage in those parts of the United Kingdom that are normally beyond the economic radius of the affected woodlands.
§ Mr. RossThere can be no reliable estimate of the import saving of the windblown timber on the basis suggested; but the noble Lord can be assured that I am keeping this aspect of the problem very much in my mind.