§ Mr. GallieTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what proposals he has for encouraging the improvement of Britain's woodlands. [27106]
§ Mr. Michael ForsythI am pleased to announce that the Forestry Commission will be giving support, under the woodland improvement grant, to two further projects aimed at improving Britain's woodlands.
The woodland improvement grant was launched in 1995 as part of the woodland grant scheme. That first project is helping to provide for public access to woodlands and will run for a further two years. The woodland improvement grant will now also be available to improve the management of poor-quality woods and for work to enhance the biodiversity of woodlands.
In the rural White Papers, we recognised the importance of bringing woods back into productive management. Now we can support landowners who wish to do restorative work in poor quality woodlands to return these areas to sustainable management. Many aspects of work will receive funding, including uneconomic felling, respacing, rhododendron control and protective work.
Woodland improvement grant funds will also be available to help Britain's ancient semi-natural woodlands and to support work in woodlands to conserve rare species such as red squirrel, dormouse, capercaillie and various bats and butterflies. These are some of the most important habitats and threatened species identified in "Biodiversity, the UK Action Plan" which the Government published following on from the Rio and Helsinki conferences. We expect woodland improvement grant to grant aid work identified in agreed management plans, for example coppice management for rare butterflies and dormice, fence removal for capercaillie and the conservation of native woodlands in national parks and priority areas in Scotland.
Within these two umbrella projects, we expect to see local partnerships develop which not only means that resources are used more effectively but allows such groups to come together and work towards one cause. Woodland improvement grant will normally fund around half the cost of the work but, subject to approval by the European Commission, we expect a number of local projects to be run as challenge funding where owners have the opportunity to compete for the available funds.
Further information for those wishing to apply for these new grants is available from the Forestry Commission.