§ Mr. Ron DaviesTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the anticipated rates of return in each forest district in Scotland for(a) existing Forestry Commission commercial forests and (b) Forestry Commission forests planted between 1987 and 1990.
§ Lord James Douglas-Hamilton[holding answer 18 July 1988]: The anticipated rate of return on existing forests is not measured by forest districts, because a calculation on that basis would require identifying all past expenditures on each of the existing crops within each district, going back in some cases to the 1920s. However, each forest district is subject to a periodic valuation of existing forests by discounting anticipated expenditure and revenue up to the time of final felling at 3 per cent.
For new planting between 1987 and 1990 the information is as follows:
868W
Forest district Anticipated rate of return in real terms Comparative rate of return if only conifers were to be planted Wester Ross 2.2 2.4 Moray — — Speyside 2.8 2.9 Buchan 2.5 2.7 Kincardine 3.2 3.4 Easter Ross 2.5 2.7 Dornoch 2.4 2.7 Inverness 1.7 1.9 Fort Augustus 2.1 2.4 Lochaber 2.1 2.3 Mull 2.8 3.0 an adoptive parent for the purposes of the adoption process is well established and is designed to safeguard the interests of the child.