Chamber and committees

An independent assessment of the forestry approval process is underway and a final report should be submitted to Scottish Ministers by the end of October 2016. The finding of this assessment will inform the review of the current processes, including the forestry consultation process.

Scottish Local Authorities publish Forest and Woodland Strategies which are used to identify suitable areas for woodland expansion. Applications for woodland expansion are prioritised using target areas and scoring criteria contained within the Forestry Grant Scheme.

Between 2007 – 2014 the Scotland Rural Development Programme Rural Priorities Grant Scheme, approved 37,718 hectares for woodland creation, of which 33,808 hectares were eligible for farmland premium. Therefore approximately 90% of woodland expansion was on agricultural land.

The Scottish Government does not collate information on the proportion of woodland expansion taking place on BAP priority open habitats. Woodland expansion applications are considered on a site by site basis and information is therefore contained in each individual case file. BAP priority open habitats are a major consideration in assessing woodland expansion cases.

The Scottish Government does not collate information on other categories of land which has been approved for woodland expansion.

The average time for approval of woodland creation schemes is 17.7 weeks from submission of the grant application to final approved scheme.

The Forestry Grant Scheme continues to offer support for native woodland management and expansion. Overall the grants available for the management of existing native woodland have not decreased.

However, changes to different elements, including the standard costs, of the Forestry Grant Scheme means that the total grant support available for individual schemes may now differ from that which would have been available under the previous Scottish Rural Development Programme.

The Scottish Government has stated its commitment to reviewing the Scottish Forestry Strategy (SFS) during the period of the current Land Use Strategy (2016-2021). The review will aim to ensure the SFS reflects changing priorities and aligns with that key Strategy and other Scottish Government policies.

The proportion of conditional stand-alone felling licenses which contain a restocking condition issued since 1 April 2012 is 97%. In addition 100% of forest plans which include a felling license have a requirement to restock.

The selection criteria for projects having significant effects on the environment are detailed in Schedule 3 of the Environmental Impact Assessment (Forestry) (Scotland) Regulations 1999. These criteria include the characteristics and location of the project and the characteristics of the potential impact on the environment, such as probability, duration and reversibility of the impact.

The Scottish Government, through planning policy, encourages planning authorities to prepare forestry and woodland strategies, in consultation with stakeholders, to inform the development of forests and woodlands in relation to other land uses within their area. In 2010, Forestry Commission Scotland published The Right Tree in the Right Place, providing guidance on the development of forestry and woodland strategies. These regional forestry and woodland strategies are used to inform the suitability of applications to the Scotland Rural Development Programme Forestry Grant Scheme.

In addition, Forestry Commission Scotland published guidance in 2013 that requires specific measures to be taken when considering ‘larger or more sensitive’ woodland creation proposals on farmland. These measures include informing those managing neighbouring land of the proposal and requesting advice from the local Rural Payments and Inspections Division office on the local patterns of agriculture.

Forest Enterprise Scotland, an agency of Forestry Commission Scotland, manages Scotland’s National Forest Estate (NFE) on behalf of Scottish Ministers. FES uses - at a national level - the National Strategic Directions publication, which sets out how the conservation of biodiversity is delivered across the NFE in line with the Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act (2004). In prioritising biodiversity related work programmes, Forest Enterprise Scotland is guided by the Scottish Forestry Strategy, as well as the biodiversity guidelines contained within the UK Forestry Standard. The actions taken, and progress achieved, are reported annually in the published Forest Commission Scotland Annual Review, as required by the Wildlife and Natural Environment (Scotland) Act 2011). In addition, the independent certification of the NFE under the UK Woodland Assurance Standard provides assurance that the management of biodiversity on the estate follows industry best practice.

The delivery of Scottish Biodiversity Strategy objectives on the NFE also contributes to the international biodiversity targets set out in the EU Biodiversity Strategy and in the Convention on Biological Diversity's Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 (Aichi targets). To ensure that the EU Habitats and Birds Directives are met, all nature conservation features of special interest on designated sites on the NFE are also monitored in collaboration with Scottish Natural Heritage under the national Site Condition Monitoring programme.