§ Sir Hector Monroasked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he is yet in a position to announce the outcome of the Forestry Commission's review of policy for broadleaved woodlands; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. YoungerThe Forestry Commission has now completed its review after wide consultations covering a period of some two and a half years, and my right hon.560W Friends the Secretary of State for Wales and the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and I have agreed new policy initiatives designed to maintain and enhance the value of Britain's broadleaved woodlands for timber production, landscape, recreation and nature conservation.
The new policy will have a number of complementary aims. It is the Government's wish to ensure that the broadleaved character of the well-wooded parts of the country is maintained and improved and to see broadleaved woodlands established in areas where they are scarce, including areas on the periphery of towns and cities. The maintenance and greater use of broadleaves in the uplands will also be encouraged, particularly where they will add to the beauty of the landscape and the wildlife interest; this will apply equally to the extensive conifer plantations which have been established in the uplands in response to our continuing policy of expanding home timber supplies. Encouragement will also be given to the greater use of broadleaved woodlands generally for conservation, recreation, sport and landscape, as well as for wood production. In particular, steps will be taken to ensure that the special interest of the ancient semi-natural woodlands is recognised and maintained. Essential to these objectives is the need to increase the quality and value of timber produced by broadleaved woodlands. We also consider it important to the success of these new policy aims that they are pursued with a reasonable degree of flexibility and within the framework of an essentially voluntary approach which harnesses the interest and goodwill of landowners, farmers and foresters.
A number of new measures will be introduced to achieve these policy aims, both for the long term and to afford more immediate protection for existing woodlands; they will apply equally to woodlands under the direct management of the Forestry Commission and to those in private or other ownership. These measures are outlined below. Full details will be given in a Foresty Commission booklet to be published shortly.
Among the long-term measures, the Forestry Commission will be designating a senior officer in each of its seven Conservancies who will be responsible for coordinating the advice already available from a wide variety of Government and non-Government sources on the establishment and management of broadleaved woodlands; for stimulating new planting in poorly-wooded areas and the better management of existing woods, by means of promotional activities and practical demonstrations; and for assembling and disseminating information on the marketing of produce and the encouragement of co-operative marketing ventures. These officers will be supported by the Commission's 70 Forest District Managers and their staffs in each locality. The Commission will also be arranging training—both for its own staff and for advisers in other Government departments and agencies and in the voluntary movement — in the various aspects of broadleaved woodland management, including landscape design, wildlife conservation and the provision of recreation and will be promoting further research into the measures required to enhance the conservation value of broadleaved woodlands and the development of less costly establishment techniques.
A new Forestry Commission grant scheme, to be known as the broadleaved woodland grant scheme, will be introduced on 1 October 1985. It is designed to assist in bringing neglected woodlands back into use for a variety 561W of purposes, to help meet the cost of creating new multipurpose woodlands; and has particular relevance to farm woodlands, especially in the lowlands. Significantly higher rates of grant will be offered under this new scheme, as shown in table 1, for the use of broadleaved species on their own and the rate of grant will be determined by the area planted and not by the size of the wood in which planting takes place. Details of the new scheme, which will be closely monitored and funded within the Forestry Commission's planned expenditure, will be published shortly by the Commission. Broadleaves in mixture with conifers will be grant-aided under the forestry grant scheme, which will continue as a separate scheme.
In addition to the Forestry Commission's grant-aid schemes, which all have wood production as one of their aims, there are other sources of finance available for planting broadleaved trees for other purposes, notably those administered by the Countryside Commissions and local authorities for amenity planting, which are designed to dovetail with the Forestry Commission's grants.
At this point, it would be appropriate to inform the House that the levels of grant available under the Commission's Basis II and III Dedication Schemes and the Forestry Grant Scheme have recently been reviewed by the Forestry Commissioners under the agreed biennial review arrangements, and my right hon. Friends and I have endorsed their proposal that the planting grants under those schemes should be increased from 1 October 1984.
Management grants, available only under the dedication schemes, will remain at the present levels. The revised rates of planting grant are shown in tables 2 and 3. These will give rise to an increase in expenditure of about 5 per cent. in a full year.
Before the start of the broadleaved woodland grant scheme, the Forestry Commission also plans to publish, after further discussions with the Environment Departments, the Nature Conservancy Council, the Countryside Commissions and appropriate non-Government bodies, general guidance on the management considerations appropriate to various types of broadleaved woodlands. The Forestry Commission will have regard to this guidance, both in its own operations and in considering applications for grant aid or felling permission. This should make the Commission's consultations with other interested authorities easier and lead in time to a reduced requirement for consultation where the proposed management is in accordance with the guidelines, although it is intended that local authorities would continue to be informed of proposals of particular interest to them. It is recognised that there is a growing public interest in broadleaved woodlands. The Forestry Commission will be taking this into account in considering ways and means of making the proceedings of its regional advisory committees more open when they are dealing with disputed applications for grant aid or felling permission, as announced by my hon. Friend, the Parliamentary Under-Secrtary of State for the Environment, in his response to the Countryside Commission's report "A Better Future for the Uplands" on 31 January 1985 at column 287.
Finally, while we do not think there is a case for any change in the tax law, we will consider whether, within 562W the existing rules, ancient semi-natural broadleaved woodlands should be able to qualify for examption from capital taxation in recognition of their heritage value.
To afford more immediate protection against the depletion of existing woodlands, my right hon. Friends and I have endorsed the Forestry Commission's proposal to reduce the volume of timber—both broadleax ed and conifer—which may be felled without a licence from 30 cubic metres to 5 cubic metres per quarter, with a reduction in the volume of such timber that may be sold from 5.5 cubic metres to 2 cubic metres. The Forestry Commissioners will be introducing an order shortly to give effect to this under their powers contained in section 9(5) (c) of the Forestry Act 1967, For similar reasons, I have also decided not to proceed with the proposal I announced in my statement to the House on 27 May 1982 to exempt silvicultural thinnings from felling controls. Allied to these changes, the Forestry Commission will continue, in its administration of the statutory felling controls, to operate a general presumption against the granting of clear-felling permissions where the intention is to convert woodland to other uses, and to prosecute those responsible for unauthorised felling. Full details of these changes will be published in a revised version of the Commission's leaflet "Control of Tree Felling".
The successful establishment of broadleaved woodlands is often frustrated by the damage done by grey squirrels, and the Forestry Commission intends to set up local squirrel control groups with the co-operation of the private sector to control such damage in vulnerable broadleaved woodlands through the effective application of known methods. Further details will be published in due course in a Forestry Commission leaflet.
Among other initiatives directed at the protection of existing woodlands, the register of ancient woodland now being compiled on a provisional basis by the Nature Conservancy Council will be completed as soon as possible. This will show where positive management in the interests of conservation is particularly required. The Tree Council is preparing a leaflet which will give advice on ways of ensuring the good management of trees and woodlands which are subject to tree preservation orders. Such orders are seen as a last resort for the protection of broadleaved woodland, and local authorities are encouraged to continue to seek management agreements with landowners for the proper management of their broadleaved woodlands in appropriate circumstances.
Broadleaved woodlands form a significant part of our national heritage. The Government are firmly committed, through the initiatives I have announced, to stemming their depletion—particularly that of the ancient woodlands—to making good the years of neglect from which many small, but important broadleaved woods have suffered, and to encouraging the formation of new ones. We have asked the Forestry Commission to report regularly on the operation and effectiveness of the new measures and we shall review them after some three years.
Now that our policy has been determined, we look to the many interests concerned — including the Forestry Commission, woodland owners, the Nature Conservancy Council, the Countryside Commissions and voluntary bodies—to work together in a spirit of co-operation to make it a success.
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Table 1 Broadleaved Woodland Grant Scheme: Grant Rates Effective from 1 October 1985 £/hectare Band Planting Natural Regeneration Area of planting or regeneration 1 2 3 Total 1 2 3 Total 70 per cent. 15 per cent. 15 per cent. 50 per cent. 30 per cent. 20 per cent. 0.25 ha-0.9 ha 840 180 180 1,200 600 360 240 1,200 1.0 ha-2.9 ha 700 150 150 1,000 500 300 200 1,000 3.0 ha-9.9 ha 560 120 120 800 400 240 160 800 10.0 ha and over 420 90 90 600 300 180 120 600 (i) The grant bands will be linked to the area of planting (including restocking) or natural regeneration.
(ii) The second and third instalments of grant will be paid as a percentage of the rate current at the time they are due.
(iii) in the case of planting, the first instalment will be paid on completion of planting and the second and third instalments at five-yearly intervals thereafter, subject to satisfactory establishment and maintenance of the trees. In the case of natural regeneration, the first instalment will be paid on completion of approved work designed to lead to regeneration, the second instalment when an adequate stocking has been achieved and the third instalment five years after subject to satisfactory establishment and maintenance.
Table 2 Forestry Grant Scheme: Grant rates effective from 1 October 1984 £/hectare Area of Wood Conifers Broadleaves 0.25 ha—0.9 ha 630 890 1.0 ha—2.9 ha 505 735 3.0 ha—9.9 ha 420 630 10.0 ha and over 240 470 Payments of these amounts will be made in two instalments—80 per cent. on completion of planting, the remainder five years later subject to satisfactory establishment.
Table 3 Basis II and III dedication schemes: Grant rates effective from 1 October 1984 £/hectare Basis II dedication Planting grant 110.00 Management grant (per annum)— first 40 hectares 4.80 second 40 hectares 3.25 balance 2.00 Basis III dedication Planting grant— Conifers 145.00 Broadleaves 330.00 Management grant (per annum) 4.20