Summary
Forests and woodlands provide many environmental, social and economic benefits to society. In order to continue to provide these benefits the creation of new woodland is essential. Private landowners clearly have the right to decide what they do with their land, however, the Government can provide incentives to landowners to use their land for forestry. We have found that woodland creation is reliant upon a well-functioning grant scheme to incentivise landowners to use their land for forestry.
The current operation of the Countryside Stewardship Scheme (CSS) is “not fit for purpose” and is acting as a barrier to greater woodland creation. The ambition to have 12% woodland cover—only a third of the EU average—in England by 2060 will not be achieved without a fundamental change to the “bureaucratic”, “overly complex” and “torturous” delivery system for CSS. In this Report we have called on the Government to reinstate a one-stop shop for forestry grants on day one of the UK’s exit from the European Union, which will signify a return to a well-functioning grant system.
We have made a number of other recommendations, including calling:
- for clear and accessible information on woodland creation and woodland cover in England to be released by the Forestry Commission every six months;
- on the Government to clarify its commitment to the 2060 12% woodland cover ambition;
- for information to be made available on the number of forests and woodlands in management;
- on the Government to work more closely with the forestry sector on issues such as woodland management;
- for the introduction of a single grant system after the UK leaves the European Union which supports both the agriculture and forestry sectors;
- on Defra to liaise more closely with Ministers in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to ensure that the forestry sector is represented in the industrial strategy;
- on the Government to ensure that the right incentives are in place for softwood planting, through grant schemes which encourage 50:50 mixed planting;
- on Defra to work with the Department for Communities and Local Government to introduce a UK-timber first procurement policy for English housing;
- for the implementation of the proposal in the Housing White Paper to clarify the protections of ancient woodland and veteran trees in the National Planning Policy Framework;
- on the Forestry Commission and Natural England to maintain an up-to-date, readily available public register of ancient and veteran trees and an inventory of ancient woodland annually; and
- for certainty from the Government by the conclusion of Article 50 negotiations on how the forestry research funding gap will be filled after the UK leaves the European Union.
17 March 2017