§ Ms. QuinTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement concerning the implications for forestry of the Government's and the EEC's proposals for set-aside in agriculture.
§ Mr. MacGregorThe Community set-aside scheme, on which discussions are continuing in the Council of Ministers, is expected to include provision for land taken out of arable crop production to be used for woodland. The consultation document issued by the Agricultural Departments on 8 December 1987 contained suggestions as to how this option might be put into practice in the United Kingdom and linked with the new farm woodland scheme. I and my colleagues will wish to consider the matter further in the light of the Community's final decisions, and of views expressed during our current consultations in this country.