§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the mandate of the Advisory Committee on Forestry and Cork is; how many times it has met over the last 12 months; what the UK representation on it is; what the annual cost of its work is to public funds; if she will list the items currently under its consideration; if she will take steps to increase its accountability and transparency to Parliament; and if she will make a statement. [61715]
§ Mr. MorleyThe mandate of the Advisory Committee on Forestry and Cork is to improve communication throughout the EU forestry sector. It comprises representatives from private sector forestry and forest industries and enables primarily non-governmental practitioners from member states to present their views on forestry and the forestry industry, policy and developments directly to the European Commission.
The committee has met twice in the last 12 months. The UK is represented by the Forestry Commission and the private forestry sector. The approximate annual cost of the committee's work to public funds is £400.
The committee is currently considering the role of forestry in the context of EU rural development policy, implementation of the EU forestry strategy and the availability of wood.