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Proceeding contribution from James Paice (Conservative) in the House of Commons on Wednesday, 2 February 2011. It occurred during Opposition day on Public Forest Estate (England).


Public Forest Estate (England)

No—I am not giving way anymore. Finally, on jobs, I want to make this point. The Government believe that any commercial undertaking that leases parts of our forests for commercial purposes will want to increase commercial and economic activity. That is the best way to encourage job creation. People will not take forests on just to shut the gate—they would be unable to do so even if they wanted to—and leave it there; they will want to run that area as a commercial, job-creating business. This debate was based on Opposition claims that range, frankly, from the spurious to the absurd. Not only do the Government not intend, as the Opposition motion suggests, to sell 100% of the forest estate; we could not do so, because we do not even own 58,000 hectares of it. The actual figures are in the document. The Secretary of State and I have repeatedly stressed—


Secondary information

Type
Proceeding contribution
Reference
522 c970 
Session
2010-12
Chamber / Committee
House of Commons chamber
Subjects
Staff Access Conservation Biodiversity Finance Forestry Commission Forests Ownership Privatisation English Nature Sales Rights of way Tree felling Cuts Woodland Trust
Link
View this Proceeding contribution on www.publications.parliament.uk