§ Mr. Ron Daviesasked the Secretary of State for Scotland on how many occasions in the year to 31 March the Forestry Commission issued felling licences which permitted the clear-felling of broadleaved woodland for conversion to agriculture; and how many hectares of woodland this totalled.
§ Mr. John MacKayI shall reply to the hon. Member as soon as possible.
§ Mr. Ron Daviesasked the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) on how many occasions, in the year to 31 March, the Forestry Commission issued felling licences 252W for broadleaved woods; of these, how many licences had conditions requiring the replanting purely of broadleaved trees; and how many hectares of woodland this totalled;
(2) on how many occasions in the year to 31 March the Forestry Commission consulted the Agricultural Department over applications for felling licences to clear woodland for agricultural purposes.
§ Mr. John MacKayI shall reply to the hon. Member as soon as possible.
§ Mr. Ron Daviesasked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many cases were reported to the Forestry Commission in the year to 31 March of broadleaved woodland felling being carried out without felling licences when a felling licence was required by law; what was the total area so felled; and how many prosecutions resulted from these cases.
§ Mr. John MacKayThe information is as follows:
Number of cases Area (hectares) Number of prosecutions 21 39.9 4 In addition, prosecutions are pending in six cases covering 22.1 hectares, and nine other cases covering 26.57 hectares are still under investigation.