Cross-party support for Confor's 2021 Scottish Parliament elections manifesto

Fergus Ewing, SNP MSP and Cabinet Secretary for Rural Economy and Tourism from 2016-2021, said the forestry and wood sector had seen an “increase in self-worth and importance” in Scotland. Cross-party support had been vital in the success of the industry, as had the strong and mutually beneficial relationship between Confor and the Scottish Government, he added. 

Mr Ewing highlighted new support for those looking to plant smaller woodlands and continued investment in timber transport, including the Rannoch rail project, which he said would take 50,000 tonnes of timber off the roads every year for the next decade.  

“There are lots of positives, but we need to be more ambitious,” he said. “The way ahead is more plantings - a mix of productive and native species, while remembering the need for future supply for the industry, and upskilling - particularly on the operational skills side.”  

He also stressed that a change in building regulations was needed to remove in-built barriers to timber use - an aim he was working on with UK forestry minister Zac Goldsmith.

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Catriona Bhatia, Scottish Liberal Democrats spokesperson on rural economy and tourism, said: “We want to support  a major expansion of Scotland’s woodlands while simultaneously increasing reliance on sustainable materials. Properly-managed woodlands and productive forests offer wide-ranging benefits.” 

She also supported the increased use of timber in housebuilding, working with planning and building control, and backed the Confor manifesto call for an forestry and timber innovation hub to commercialise low-carbon, wood-based products to add economic value.

Rhoda Grant,  Rural Economy and Tourism spokesperson for Scottish Labour, said forestry and wood processing provided “well-paid permanent jobs which are few and far between in rural communities”. She said: “Woodland is a very cost-effective way of increasing carbon sequestration and will help us reach climate change targets. We also need to use wood in construction to lock that carbon away for the longer-term.”