Memorandum submitted by the Forestry Commission
(Appendix 16)
INTRODUCTION
1. This memorandum sets out the views of
the Forestry Commission on the draft Natural Environment and Rural
Communities Bill.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
2. The Forestry Commission welcomes the
draft Bill and looks forward to developing a close partnership
with the new Integrated Agency and the Commission for Rural Communities.
It is important, however, that the functions of the Integrated
Agency in particular must be distinctive from the roles of its
major partnersthe Environment Agency and the Forestry Commissionand
must give the Integrated Agency a clear focus and direction. We
also welcome the proposals in the Bill to give the Secretary of
State powers of delegation to delivery bodies, and for such bodies
to delegate to one another, in all cases by mutual consent. This
will allow a degree of flexibility to rationalise delivery.
STATUS, FUNCTIONS
AND ORGANISATION
OF THE
FORESTRY COMMISSION
3. The Forestry Commission is the non-ministerial
government department responsible for advising on and implementing
forestry policy in Great Britain. It is a cross-border public
authority responsible separately to Ministers in England, Scotland
and Wales and collectively on GB functions. Forestry is a devolved
matter, and in England the Commission reports to the Secretary
of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. The Commission
is headed by a Board of Commissioners, whose principal duties
and powers are defined in the Forestry Acts 1967 and 1979.
4. The Commission manages the public forest
estates in each country, offers grants for expanding, regenerating
and managing forests and regulates tree felling. It also provides
advice to Ministers, undertakes and commissions research, sets
standards for good forestry practice and protects Britain's forests
from pests and diseases. In England the public forest estate amounts
to 260,000 hectares, equivalent to about one-fifth of the country's
woodlands.
5. The Commission also works on issues that
are outside the scope of the Bill, for example, creation of woodland
in urban areas and as part of the regeneration of former industrial
land in support of the Sustainable Communities Plan led by ODPM.
DELIVERING ON
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
6. The Forestry Commission's commitment
to sustainable development is exemplified by the independent certification
of its public forest estate, making Great Britain the first country
in the world to secure this internationally recognised verification
for sustainable forest management. However, we also recognise
that delivering sustainable development goes beyond the forest
gate and requires integration with other land uses. We therefore
welcome the creation of the new Integrated Agency and the Commission
for Rural Communities as partners with whom we can work to bring
real changes in addressing the social, economic and environmental
issues in the countryside.
WORKING WITH
THE INTEGRATED
AGENCY
7. The Forestry Commission will become a
close working partner of the new Integrated Agency. This will
reflect our distinct areas of expertise and complementary objectives.
For this reason, we see it as particularly important that the
functions of the Integrated Agency, as stated in the Bill, must
be distinctive from the roles of its major partnersthe
Environment Agency and Forestry Commissionand must give
the Integrated Agency a clear focus and direction.
8. To clarify these relationships, a three-way
Memorandum of Understanding will be drawn up between the Integrated
Agency, Environment Agency and Forestry Commission to define and
agree our shared objectives and arrangements for joint working.
We agree that there is a need for flexibility in this framework
so that there is scope for it to evolve as the Integrated Agency
finds its feet.
9. The new partnership will also build upon
the close working relationship that the Commission already has
with English Nature, the Countryside Agency, the Rural Development
Service and other local and national partnerships which include
the Environment Agency, English Heritage, Regional Development
Agencies, the Association of National Parks and the Association
of AONBs. This will allow the relevant bodies to work more closely
together to meet the wider challenges in the countryside, for
example allowing a more joined-up approach to regional land use
planning. The Forestry Commission will, for example, work closely
with the Integrated Agency, and others in preparing and implementing
strategies for the restoration and expansion of native woodland.
COMMISSION FOR
RURAL COMMUNITIES
10. We already work closely with the Countryside
Agency and look forward to working with the Commission for Rural
Communities to help ensure that actions by public bodies really
do make a difference to rural people and communities on the ground.
FLEXIBILITY AND
DELEGATION
11. We welcome the proposals in the Bill
to give the Secretary of State powers of delegation to delivery
bodies, and for such bodies to delegate to one another, in all
cases by mutual consent. This will allow a degree of flexibility
to help rationalise delivery. However, the Forestry Commission
has distinct statutory powers and we must remain mindful that
these are safeguarded.
OTHER MEASURES
12. Most of these have no particular impact
on our activities. We would however support the proposal to extend
the Countryside and Rights of Way Act biodiversity duty to public
bodies and statutory undertakers in England and Wales and also
the proposal to clarify the use of mechanically propelled vehicles
on rights of way.
CONCLUSION
13. The Forestry Commission welcomes the
draft Bill and the modernised rural delivery arrangements. We
look forward to developing a close partnership with the new Integrated
Agency and the Commission for Rural Communities, based on distinctive
but complementary roles and building upon the good working relationships
we have with the current delivery bodies.
14. The Forestry Commission has a track
record of managing land and woodland for public benefit and adapting
our delivery mechanisms to serve the changing needs of society.
It will continue to adapt, bringing our distinctive skills to
new partnerships, building upon the close working relationship
that the Commission already has with the bodies which will become
part of the Integrated Agency.
The Forestry Commission
February 2005
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