§ Mr. Ron DaviesTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (Scotland) area of land referred to the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (Scotland) by the Forestry Commission, in total and for each regional conservancy in Scotland, under forestry grant consultation procedures during the period 1 April 1987 to 31 January 1988; and if he will list in each case the area of land for which the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (Scotland) advised it was(a) acceptable to award planting grant approval and (b) inappropriate to award grant on agricultural grounds.
§ Mr. Michael ForsythDuring the period 1 April 1987 to 31 January 1988, a total of 25,616 hectares of land was referred to the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland by the Forestry Commission under the procedures for consultation on forestry grant scheme applications. The Department advised that it had no objections on agricultural grounds to applications affecting 23,179 hectares and notified the Forestry Commission of agricultural objections to 2,437 hectares.
77WWithin Scotland, this information is collected for each DAFS area office rather than by regional conservancy. The statistics for the period 1 April 1987 to 31 January 1988 are as set out:
Area Office Area referred Area cleared Area not cleared (in hectares) (in hectares) (in hectares) Aberdeen 211 211 — Ayr 1,432 1,377 55 Dumfries 2,794 1,890 904 Dundee 325 325 — Edinburgh 207 207 — Galashiels 3,755 2,876 879 Glasgow 537 537 — Keith 2,483 2,309 174 Kirkwall — — — Inverness 2,529 2,476 53 Oban 3,266 2,970 296 Perth 2,014 2,008 6 Portree 162 162 — Stirling 584 514 70 Thurso 5,317 5,317 — Total 25,616 23,179 2,437
§ Mr. Ron DaviesTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what environmental guidance he will be giving to the Forestry Commission concerning grant approval for new planting in the uplands and highlands of Scotland; and if he will make a statement.
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonI refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Dumfries (Sir H. Monro) on 17 March at columns670–71.