1Introduction
1.The Independent Panel on Forestry (IPF), chaired by the then Bishop of Liverpool, was set up in 2011 following “public outcry” at the then Government’s proposals to make changes to how the public forest was managed.1 The IPF published its Final Report in July 2012 which:
advised [the UK] Government on the future direction of forestry and woodland policy in England, and on the role of the Forestry Commission in implementing it.2
2.That Report made recommendations relating to the governance of forestry, access to forests and the long-term strategy for forestry. The Government responded to the IPF’s Report in January 2013 through the Government Forestry and Woodlands Policy Statement, accepting some of the IPF’s recommendations.3
3.It has been nearly five years since the IPF Report was published. This inquiry was launched to scrutinise the work that the Government has undertaken since the publication of the IPF Report to secure the environmental, social and economic benefits of forestry that we explore in this Report. We have also scrutinised the overall effectiveness of forestry policy, support and strategy in England, including looking at these in the context of the UK leaving the European Union. We have not examined forestry policy in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as it is a devolved matter.
Our inquiry
4.We launched a call for evidence for our inquiry into Forestry in England on 25 July 2016. On 2 November 2016 we appointed a Sub-Committee to undertake the inquiry. The members of our Sub-Committee were Neil Parish (Chair), Chris Davies, Simon Hart, Dr Paul Monaghan, Rebecca Pow and Angela Smith. Owing to the Chair’s absence in January, the second oral evidence session was chaired by Angela Smith.
5.Our Sub-Committee examined how effectively current Government policies achieve the following objectives and how such polices should be developed in future to:
- Increase the level of tree cover and improve management of private and public forests in England;
- Balance woodland protection, including of ancient forests, with economic exploitation, including developing woods as an energy source;
- Provide a strategic framework, including fiscal and regulatory regimes, to support forestry businesses;
- Provide grants and advice through the CAP and the Rural Development Programme, and any successor programme, for England that incentivise the sector to deliver multiple economic and environmental benefits; and
- Ensure there is the right research, including into management of pests and diseases, which is well integrated into policy development.4
6.The Sub-Committee held two oral evidence sessions:
- The first on 6 December took evidence from forestry delivery bodies (Forestry Commission (England), Forest Research and Natural England), and representatives of the forestry sector (the National Forest Company, the Country Land and Business Association (CLA) and Confor).
- The second and final evidence session on 13 January took evidence from charities (Royal Forestry Society, Woodland Trust and the Institute of Chartered Foresters), and the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Environment and Rural Life Opportunities at Defra, Dr Thérèse Coffey.
Over 70 pieces of written evidence were received as part of this inquiry from a wide range of individuals and organisations, including experts in the field, members of the public, recreation organisations, environmental organisations and the forestry sector. The evidence (oral and written) we received can be found on our website.5 We thank all those who gave oral and written evidence to our inquiry.
1 Independent Panel on Forestry, Final Report, 2012
2 “Independent Panel on Forestry”, GOV.UK
3 Defra, Government Forestry and Woodlands Policy Statement: Incorporating the Government’s Response to the Independent Panel on Forestry’s Final Report, January 2013
4 Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, “Forestry in England inquiry launched”, 25 July 2016
5 These can be viewed on the Committee’s website: www.parliament.uk/efracom.
17 March 2017