§ Mr. EdwardsTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is his policy relating to consultation by(a) the Forestry Commission and (b) Forest Enterprise with (i) local authorities and (ii) the public prior to the sale of Forestry Commission forest land. [95222]
§ Mr. MorleyThe subject of this question relates to matters undertaken by Forest Enterprise and I have asked the Chief Executive to reply to my hon. Friend direct.
Letter from Bob McIntosh to Mr. Huw Edwards, dated 25 October 1999:
I refer to your question to the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food asking what the Forestry Commission's policy is in relation to consultation on the sale of forest land. I have been asked to reply.The Forestry Commission and Forest Enterprise notify the Local Authority of all sales of forest land as part of our Continued Public Access policy. This is to inform the Local Authority that we are considering sale of forest land and that we may be in a position to offer the opportunity to enter into an agreement to protect access after sale.We do not, at the moment, notify forest land sales directly to the public. However we are in the process of reviewing our policy on community participation and involvement and are considering ways in which sales might be notified to local people. Of course when land is offered for sale on the open market it is advertised widely by our selling agents.