Source · Select Committees · Environmental Audit Committee
Recommendation 19
19
Accepted
Paragraph: 89
Ensure forestry strategies clearly communicate grant scheme support for domestic timber production to landowners.
Recommendation
We recommend that in all its forestry and timber strategies the Government must ensure that it is clear to private landowners and the commercial forestry sector that grant schemes are intended to support planting for domestic timber production through the establishment of mixed woodlands planted to the UK Forestry Standard, as well as the establishment of majority native broadleaf woodlands.
Government Response Summary
The government stated that the England Woodland Creation Offer (EWCO) already aims to encourage commercial forestry and timber production, and they have conducted campaigns to clearly communicate that grant schemes support planting for domestic timber production in mixed woodlands.
Paragraph Reference:
89
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
The overall ambition of the England Woodland Creation Offer (EWCO) is to encourage investment in woodland creation for a variety of purposes including commercial forestry and timber production. All new planting schemes supported by the Nature for Climate Fund conform to the UK Forestry Standard (UKFS). The UKFS supports both coniferous and broadleaf woodlands but does not allow a single species to constitute more than 65% of a new forest; in practice, a new woodland is unlikely to comprise more than 50% of a single species because of sensitivities across the site, including landscape, and variation in site conditions. The eligibility criteria of all our grants are available online and we have run campaigns focusing on the economic aspects of woodland creation, linking into the relevant grant offers with generous per hectare and per year payments to manage a commercial crop.