The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Mrs Caroline Spelman)
I have today published a public consultation on the future of the public forest estate in England. A copy of the consultation document is available through the DEFRA website (www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/index.htm) and the Forestry Commission website (www.forestry.gov.uk/england-pfe-consultation) and I have placed copies in the Libraries of both Houses.
The public forest estate in England is around 258,000 hectares of Government-owned land managed by the Forestry Commission. It represents less than one fifth of the woodlands of England, with the majority of the remainder in private and voluntary sector ownership. The estate was started at a time of national crisis after the first world war, with severe shortages of timber and a woodland resource depleted to less than 5% of the land area in Great Britain.
In line with the Government’s broad policy to effect a shift from big Government to big society, the consultation sets out the rationale for reducing state ownership and management of forest resources. The status quo is not an option. There is a fundamental conflict of interest in the Forestry Commission’s role. It is the largest player in the commercial forestry sector, a sector it also regulates.
The Government’s approach to looking at new models of ownership and management of the public forest estate in England will be underpinned by a set of key principles that are designed to protect public access and other public benefits that so many enjoy. The Government’s proposals, on which the consultation seeks views, are for a mixed approach which includes:
recognising that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to the different types of woodland and forestry;
inviting new or existing charitable organisations to take on ownership or management of the heritage forests in order to secure their public benefits future generations to enjoy;
creating opportunities for community and civil society groups to buy or lease forests that they wish to own or manage; and
issuing long-term leases on the large-scale commercially valuable forests. By leasing rather than selling, it will be possible to ensure that the public can continue to enjoy their benefits.
The Government are committed to the ongoing provision and protection of the public benefits provided by the public forest estate. The policy we are consulting on shows how we intend to achieve this. We will ensure that the powers in the Public Bodies Bill reflect our policy objectives, so that the powers and duties within it are strengthened to safeguard the natural and social capital our forests provide now and for future generations. This would apply to the powers of sale, lease and management of the public forest estate. The consultation proposes that conditions will be attached to leases so that access and other public benefits are protected. We will consider:
introducing a general duty on the Government to have regard to the maintenance of public benefits when exercising the powers under the Bill;
exempting the most iconic heritage forests from the full range of options so that for example, the Forest of Dean or the New Forest could only be transferred to a charitable organisation or remain in public ownership, in line with the policy as set out in the consultation.
The Forestry Commission will play an important role in supporting the wider forestry sector—through its regulatory, grant-giving, research and expert advisory roles—to provide a wide range of public benefits.
The consultation relates to 85% of the public forest estate. The remaining 15% is covered by the spending review settlement, announced in October 2010.
I am today publishing tightened criteria for those sales under the Forestry Commission’s programme to deliver £100 million in gross receipts during 2011-15. During 2010, the Forestry Commission’s asset disposal programme continued under criteria established by the previous Administration. At the end of 2010, pending review of the sales criteria, Ministers withdrew some sites from sale. The new criteria have been amended to strengthen the protection of public benefits through the withdrawal from sale of woodlands with significant areas of unrestored plantations on ancient woodland sites.