Examination of Witnesses (Questions 100-101)
Wednesday 18 June 2003
SIR
BRIAN BENDER,
KCB, MR PAUL
ELLIOTT, MR
ANDREW BURCHELL
AND MR
DAVID BILLS
Q100 Paddy Tipping: Let me just ask
you a more specific question, which is about your economic regeneration
role. In the annual report I am disappointed that of the three
targets set there you are not meeting any of them. I just speak
with local knowledge in that many of the former colliery sites
in Nottinghamshire the Commission had done a marvellous job and
indeed the Chairman is going to come and walk a site with me next
month. But these are really vital projects. They are turning mud
heaps back into Sherwood Forest. Why are you not achieving this?
This really is dead important.
Mr Bills: It is a new game for
us, of course. We took it on shortly after I arrived in this job
and with the Nottingham colliery we could see a great need there.
It is a game which requires a lot of working with partners and
the Forestry Commission in history was not always good at working
in partnerships. We are a pretty single-minded and well-focussed
group of people putting trees in for other purposes. So we have
had to change our culture to deal with that. I think that is under
our belt now. I asked my people the fundamental question on this
particular target that you are looking at and we would put it
down, I think, to two things. There is still a lot of nervousness
about the liability issues and you see that we are looking at
working up a land restoration trust with other partners. The other
factor has been out of our control, I guess, it happens to me
too, and that is that English Partners has been under review and
they have been finding it difficult, I think, to perhaps partner
us in the way that was originally intended, through no fault of
their own either.
Q101 Paddy Tipping: You mentioned
the national forest and the community forest targets not being
met for planting there and indeed the Countryside Agency seems
to want to back out of community forests. Are you going to keep
these important initiatives going in some ways?
Mr Bills: I do not want to back
out and I know that in the integration of our activities with
Defra there is discussion going on about us perhaps taking more
of a direct role in the community forests. Some of the targets
we have missed in the community forests. Foot and Mouth stopped
a lot of activity. It made it very difficult. But we believe that
we will meet those targets by the end of the three years. We are
in catch-up mode on those targets.
Paddy Tipping: Thank you.
Chairman: The forthcoming attractions,
Wednesdays, usual prices: Lord Haskins next week. I recommend
a quick review of the annual report of Northern Foods, particularly
the biscuits division, if I may say so, in preparation for that!
Then we have the Secretary of State, I think a fortnight after
that. Sir Brian and your team, thank you very much for coming
here today and we will no doubt see you on a number of occasions
before the annual report time but we will look forward to seeing
the continued progress and photographs indeed of the annual report
next year. Thank you very much.
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