After a concerted campaign, led by Jamie, the Scottish Government has agreed to make a number of amendments to the grants system to assist woodland creation and provide support for sustainable forest management - key objectives shared by government and the forestry and wood-using sector that will help lock up carbon and promote employment.

The latest step forward is an announcement that applicants will now receive the rate of payment applicable at the time of submitting a claim. This has been a key ConFor request and will provide applicants with the confidence to make their submissions for grant now rather than wait for future, expected changes to the scheme rates for forestry.  With this item resolved, ConFor is now urging applicants to commit woodland creation schemes; most of which can be dealt with by Forestry Commission Scotland under delegated authority rather than go through the longer and more uncertain process of the next RPAC (Regional Proposal Assessment Committee) in November.

Since the abrupt and early demise of the Scottish Forest Grant Scheme in 2006 and the incorporation of the funding mechanism into the Scotland Rural Development Programme (SRDP), there has been a marked decline in new planting in Scotland.

ConFor identified potential problems early on in the development of the SRDP, which is principally targeted at agriculture, and warned that the system would deter forestry applicants. This has proven to be the case and ConFor has worked hard with successive environment ministers and officials to address this, with ministers commissioning a report led by George McRobbie that prompted immediate action and which also fed into, and informed, the recently published Cook report on the SRDP. 

Jamie commented: “It seems that there is a real groundswell of action on the decline of new planting, largely brought about by ConFor’s lobbying on this issue”.

The uncertainty over possible changes to grant rates had been preventing applicants committing their schemes to what may have been a lower rate of grant support.  The situation was made worse at the end of last year when the Scottish Government submitted a plan modification to increase woodland creation rates to 80% in Less Favoured Areas (LFA), and increase the associated annual maintenance payments by 30% in all areas. While this would have, in time, resulted in additional activity it was deterring applications at a time when government targets for new planting were being missed and the economic downturn was putting pressure on businesses in the sector.

• ConFor (Confederation of Forest industries) represents forestry and wood-using businesses from nurseries and growers to wood-processing end-users in the UK. www.confor.org.uk
•   For further information, please contact Jamie Farquhar on 07817 374906. Jamie will be available for interview at the Royal Highland Show on Friday 26 June.  He will be at the Finest Woods Awards (11am at the Scottish Government Pavilion) or simply call his mobile.