Forestry in Scotland: New administrative arrangements

This is the text of a note circulated to Confor members by Jamie Farquhar (Confor - National Manager for Scotland). He has kindly agreed that I may repeat the text in this Blog to provide a pointer to the important changes that are being introduced.

On 5 February 2018, the Scottish Government issued a statement setting out how the Scottish Government will manage and administer its forestry responsibilities when the devolution of forestry in Scotland is completed.

The Government has responded to Confor’s requests for clarity on how it will protect and promote forestry expertise in future arrangements, while enabling forestry to be at the heart of future policy making across important areas like rural policy and climate change.

Confor had proposed that the division regulating forestry within the Scottish Government be given the title ‘Scottish Forestry Service’ or similar and that the post of Chief Forester, which we successfully championed, be the head of the division with a clear role to promote professionalism and continuing professional development. We also asked for clarity and confirmation, again, that staff in the division, and the land management agency, would be encouraged to spend time working in the other body, and in the private sector.

The Scottish Government’s statement addresses all these points.  The full statement, including a diagram of the old and new structures, can be read here.

Another important aspect of the arrangements is that Forestry and Land Scotland, which will manage the National Forest Estate, will remain a public corporation just as Forest Enterprise Scotland is at present. This is essential to ensure the financial flexibility to manage its forests professionally and commercially.