Asked by: Richard Arkless (Scottish National Party - Dumfries and Galloway)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to support milk producers in ensuring milk prices in supermarkets are maintained.
Answered by George Eustice
We support the farming industry by reducing red tape, funding research to foster innovation, extending the tax averaging period for self-employed farmers and working to open up new export markets.
To provide some relief to hard-pressed farmers we secured a £26.6m aid package for the UK from the European Commission – the third largest of all Member States. Dairy farmers across the UK are being paid a one-off, flat rate payment linked to milk production. The majority of payments were made by the RPA on 16 November 2015.
The Government is working with the food industry – including supermarkets, retailers, manufacturers and caterers – on even more consistent labelling and branding of British dairy products, improving transparency across the supply chain and allocating more space on shop shelves. This will make it easier for consumers and food businesses to know when they are buying British dairy products.
A number of supermarkets have pledged to pay a premium over and above the current market price and we should welcome that. It won’t solve the problem but it will give some respite to farmers.
Asked by: Richard Arkless (Scottish National Party - Dumfries and Galloway)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much Forestry Commission England spent on replanting in each year since 2000.
Answered by Rory Stewart
The area felled in any one year on the public forest estate in England is not recorded separately, but the total area that has been felled and which is in the process of being either restocked, or being converted to another land use, such as open habitats for landscape or conservation reasons, is recorded. This is given in the table below, along with the area restocked each year and the expenditure on restocking operations.
Year ending 31 March | Total felled area 1 (thousand hectares) | Restocked area 2 (thousand hectares) | Expenditure associated with restocking 3 (£ ,000s) |
2001 | 7.9 | 2.1 | 5,181 |
2002 | 8.4 | 2.3 | 5,779 |
2003 | 7.9 | 2.3 | 5,979 |
2004 | 8.1 | 2.2 | 5,735 |
2005 | 8.1 | 1.9 | 5,635 |
2006 | 7.5 | 2.5 | 6,356 |
2007 | 8.2 | 1.9 | 6,562 |
2008 | 8.3 | 2.1 | 5,915 |
2009 | 8.7 | 1.8 | 5,924 |
2010 | 9.2 | 1.5 | 5,880 |
2011 | 8.1 | 2.5 | 7,340 |
2012 | 8.2 | 2.2 | 7,384 |
2013 | 8.6 | 2.2 | 6,448 |
2014 | 8.7 | 2.1 | 7,399 |
2015 | 8.6 | 2.3 | 7,884 |
1 ‘Felled area’ is the area of the public forest estate that is recorded as felled on the sub-compartment database, the Forestry Commission’s electronic record of current land use. Because there is generally a two to four year gap between felling and restocking, or the reclassification as another land use, the total area classified as ‘felled’ is significantly greater than that which is felled in any one year.
2 ‘Restocked area’ is the area of the public forest estate that has previously been felled and which is recorded as having been restocked in the previous 12 months, including by natural regeneration and replanting.
3 Expenditure associated with restocking is all money spent on activities directly attributed to restocking after felling, including preparation of the site and maintenance during the initial establishment phase.
Asked by: Richard Arkless (Scottish National Party - Dumfries and Galloway)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many hectares of trees have been (a) felled and (b) replanted on Forestry Commission land in England in each year since 2000.
Answered by Rory Stewart
The area felled in any one year on the public forest estate in England is not recorded separately, but the total area that has been felled and which is in the process of being either restocked, or being converted to another land use, such as open habitats for landscape or conservation reasons, is recorded. This is given in the table below, along with the area restocked each year and the expenditure on restocking operations.
Year ending 31 March | Total felled area 1 (thousand hectares) | Restocked area 2 (thousand hectares) | Expenditure associated with restocking 3 (£ ,000s) |
2001 | 7.9 | 2.1 | 5,181 |
2002 | 8.4 | 2.3 | 5,779 |
2003 | 7.9 | 2.3 | 5,979 |
2004 | 8.1 | 2.2 | 5,735 |
2005 | 8.1 | 1.9 | 5,635 |
2006 | 7.5 | 2.5 | 6,356 |
2007 | 8.2 | 1.9 | 6,562 |
2008 | 8.3 | 2.1 | 5,915 |
2009 | 8.7 | 1.8 | 5,924 |
2010 | 9.2 | 1.5 | 5,880 |
2011 | 8.1 | 2.5 | 7,340 |
2012 | 8.2 | 2.2 | 7,384 |
2013 | 8.6 | 2.2 | 6,448 |
2014 | 8.7 | 2.1 | 7,399 |
2015 | 8.6 | 2.3 | 7,884 |
1 ‘Felled area’ is the area of the public forest estate that is recorded as felled on the sub-compartment database, the Forestry Commission’s electronic record of current land use. Because there is generally a two to four year gap between felling and restocking, or the reclassification as another land use, the total area classified as ‘felled’ is significantly greater than that which is felled in any one year.
2 ‘Restocked area’ is the area of the public forest estate that has previously been felled and which is recorded as having been restocked in the previous 12 months, including by natural regeneration and replanting.
3 Expenditure associated with restocking is all money spent on activities directly attributed to restocking after felling, including preparation of the site and maintenance during the initial establishment phase.