Public Forest Estate (England)

Debate between Mary Creagh and Mark Lazarowicz

Wednesday 2nd February 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mary Creagh]

I do not know what the hon. Gentleman has got against those dedicated public servants, but when I met them they were very concerned about the 270 jobs that will go instantly in the Forestry Commission and about how woodland will be managed with 25% fewer staff. They were concerned about how national diseases, such as sudden oak death, will be managed and about the loss of a critical mass of expertise from the Forestry Commission. The hon. Gentleman derides that concern as if it were all about jobs for the boys and girls. It is not: those workers care about the forests, which is more than can be said for the Conservatives.

[Mark Lazarowicz (Edinburgh North and Leith) (Lab/Co-op)]

I am glad that we are talking about the jobs of those who work for the Forestry Commission. Although we are talking about forests in England, jobs throughout the UK are at risk. There are several hundred staff at the former UK headquarters in Edinburgh, many of whom live in my constituency and are very worried about the future. They have told me that between 400 and 600 jobs in Scotland depend on the link with the English Forestry Commission and they are very worried about the future because of the Government’s proposals.

[Mary Creagh]

Yes, we risk a cross-infection of job losses across the Forestry Commission estate with these proposals.

It is not only Forestry Commission staff who are worried. David Sulman, executive director of the UK Forest Products Association, called the proposals

“a recipe for disaster. If these leasing plans go ahead, thousands of jobs in the forestry and forest products sector will be put in jeopardy; many businesses could be starved of their wood supply and would face closure as a consequence.”

There is no plan for rural jobs and growth here.

The consultation is full of holes. The Government talk about the big society, but the Forestry Commission and its communities are the big society. The Department’s impact assessment shows that the costs will outweigh the benefits. There is no mandate for this. The coalition agreement promised

“measures to…promote green spaces and wildlife corridors in order to halt the loss of habitats and restore biodiversity.”

How will these sales achieve that?