§ 16. Mr. Heathcoat-AmoryTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent representations he has received about the increasing afforestation of the border hills.
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonMy noble Friend the Minister of State has received representations from the right hon. Member for Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale (Mr. Steel). In addition, a number of representations have been made to Scottish Office Ministers about individual planting applications.
§ Mr. Ron DaviesTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what consultations he has had with the Forestry Commission concerning the new forestry grant arrangements; and if he will make a statement.
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonAdvice given to Ministers by their departments is confidential.
§ Sir Hector MonroTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he is in a position to announce details of the new forestry grant scheme referred to in his answer of 16 March,Official Report, columns 585–87.
§ Mr. RifkindIn the answer I gave on 16 March to a question put by my hon. Friend. I stated that the changes to the tax and grant arrangements announced by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer were designed to provide a simpler and more widely acceptable system of support for private forestry.
138WThe Forestry Commission's forestry grant scheme and broadleaved woodland grant scheme were closed to new applications from 15 March 1988, and will be replaced on 5 April 1988 by a single grant scheme, to be known as the woodland grant scheme. The European Commission is being informed under the provisions of article 93 of the treaty of Rome. Applications may be made under this scheme from 5 April 1988, but cannot be approved until clearance of the scheme by the European Commission.
The scheme will apply to the establishment and restocking of broadleaved, conifer and mixed woodlands, whether by planting or by natural regeneration, and to the rehabilitation of neglected woodland under 20 years of age. It will also cover planting done under the farm woodland scheme.
The objectives of the scheme are:
to encourage timber production;to provide jobs in and increase the economic potential of rural areas with declining agricultural employment and few alternative sources of economic activity;to provide an alternative to agricultural production and thereby assist in the reduction of agricultural surpluses; to enhance the landscape, to create new wildlife habitats and to provide for recreation and sporting uses in the longer term;to encourage the conservation and regeneration of existing forests and woodlands.The rates of grant will be increased to the levels set out in the following table:
Rates of grant Area approved for planting or regeneration (hectares) Conifers £ per hectares Broadleaves £ per hectares Area band 0.25–0.9 1,005 1,575 1.0–2.9 880 1,375 3.0–9.9 795 1,175 10 and over 615 975 These rates of grant are generally £375 per hectare higher than those tinder the forestry grant scheme and the broadleaved woodland grant scheme, but the increase for broadleaved trees planted or regenerated in mixed woodlands will be substantially larger.
The rates of grant for conifer planting done under the farm woodland scheme will remain unchanged; broad-leaved planting under that scheme will, however, be eligible for the new broadleaved grants.
For new planting on existing arable or improved grassland of less than 10 years of age which is undertaken outside the farm woodland scheme, there will be a supplement of £200 per hectare.
Apart from the increased rates of grant and the special supplement for planting on better land, the scheme will have a number of important features:
the simplicity of a scheme which replaces two schemes with different conditions, and which covers all forms of planting, regeneration and rehabilitation of woodlands;a substantial differential in favour of broadleaves;all broadleaved planting, whether it be on its own or in mixture, will attract the same rates of grant;the broadleaved rate of grant will also apply to the planting and natural regeneration of native pinewoods in specified areas of Scotland;environmental objectives and provisions that will apply to all types of woodland;all types of natural regeneration will now be eligible for the first instalment of grant-aid at the time the preparatory work is carried out;139Wgrants for the rehabilitation of derelict woodlands under 20 years of age will now include conifer and mixed woodlands;grants will be paid in three instalments over 10 years. For conifers as well as for broadleaves, the second and third instalments will attract the rates of grant applicable when they fall due;grant bands will be determined by the total area approved for planting regeneration under the application and not, as was the case under the Forestry Grant Scheme, by the size of the woodland of which such planting or regeneration might form a part.The scheme will encompass a wide range of management objectives designed not only to provide timber but to encourage the development of multi-purpose woodland management, to achieve a proper balance between broadleaves and conifers, to enable forestry to play its full part as an alternative use of agricultural land no longer needed for food production, and to ensure that the expansion of forestry takes place in harmony with other land uses and the environment.
In this connection, applications relating to the establishment and restocking of broadleaved woodland will be subject to the provisions of the guidelines for the management of broadleaved woodland published by the Forestry Commission, and the new scheme will incorporate similar guidelines for the management of all types of woodland. These will be subject to the review of our broadleaves policy which is due to take place later this year.
Full details of the new woodland grant scheme are set out in a Forestry Commission leaflet, copies of which have been placed in the Library of the House.
I am sure the announcement of this new scheme, with its greatly improved rates of grant and wide-ranging objectives, will serve to underline the Government's commitment to the sensitive yet vigorous expansion of forestry.
§ Mr. Ron DaviesTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he expects to be in a position to give details of the new forestry grant arrangements; and if he will make a statement.
§ Lord James Douglas-Hamilton[holding answer 21 March 1988]: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given today to my right hon. Friend the Member for Dumfries (Sir H. Monro).