2 Introduction
2. The proposal for the draft Regulatory Reform (Forestry
Order) 2006 was laid before the House by the Secretary of State
for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 19 July 2005.
3. The Government wish to enable the Forestry Commissioners
("the Commissioners") to make use of private funding
in furtherance of their work. The proposed Order would give the
Commissioners a new power to form or to participate in forming
companies or charitable trusts. This would make it possible for
the Commissioners to enter into joint ventures with commercial
partners to provide improved recreational, sporting and tourist
facilities for the public within the state-owned forest estates
which they manage. It is proposed to give the Commissioners new
power to delegate their existing power to levy charges under the
Countryside Act 1968 ("the 1968 Act") for the use of
tourist facilities in these publicly-owned forests to other persons.
The ability to take part in joint ventures would also be enhanced
by a proposed new power for the Commissioners to exploit commercially
intellectual property rights which arise as a result of their
research activities.
4. The second main aspect of the proposed Order is
to enhance the Forestry Commissioners' powers to require remedial
action following the unlawful felling of trees. It is proposed
to repeal the existing requirement of the Forestry Act 1967 ("the
1967 Act") that a person may only be served with a notice
requiring them to restock felled trees where that person has first
been convicted of unlawful felling of those trees under that Act
and replace it with a power to require restocking without the
requirement of prior conviction. The Commissioners would also
be empowered to take enforcement action for breach of requirements
imposed by felling licences against the original applicant for
the licence rather than, as now, only against the freeholder of
the land on which felled trees had been growing.
5. The House has instructed us to examine the proposal
against the criteria specified in Standing Order No. 141(6) and
then, in the light of that examination, to report whether the
Government should proceed, whether amendments should be made,
or whether the Order should not be made.
6. Our discussion of matters arising from our examination
is set out below. Where a criterion specified in Standing Order
No. 141 (6) is not discussed in the report, this indicates that
we have had no concerns to raise about that criterion. In the
course of our examination, we requested further information from
the Forestry Commissioners about a number of issues relating to
the proposal and the text of our questions to the Commissioners
is reproduced in Appendix A to this report. The Commissioners'
response is reproduced as Appendix B.
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