§ Mr. William Hamiltonasked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether his attention has been drawn to the fact that Scottish-grown timber is being sold by the Forestry Commission at prices below those obtainable through public auction; that this is having adverse affects on small timber mills; and if he will inquire into this matter.
§ Mr. Gordon CampbellThe prices of timber sold by the Forestry Commission 127W under negotiated contracts were frozen by stage 1 of the counter-inflation programme but sales by auction or tender were not affected. Under stage 2 all sales of unprocessed timber have been freed from price control and this will be reflected in future prices.
§ Mr. William Hamiltonasked the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if he will ensure that home-grown timber is sold by the Forestry Commission by public auction or open tender;
(2) if he will take steps to abolish long-term negotiated contracts on the sale of timber by the Forestry Commission.
§ Mr. Gordon CampbellNo. The method by which the Forestry Commission sells its timber varies according to the circumstances and should be left to its commercial judgment.