Timber is the future: Scottish Election Manifesto 2026
New housebuilding is a policy priority. Building with timber benefits local economies and the environment, because it means new homes are sustainable.
With a Scottish General Election set to take place by 7 May 2026, Confor has identified priorities for policymakers to ensure a resilient and sustainable future for the UK’s forestry and wood processing industries.
Confor Scottish Election Manifesto 2026
5 Actions to Build More Homes, Deliver Stronger Growth & Tackle Climate Change
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Create a UK-leading timber strategy for Scotland: A Timber Industrial Strategy for Scotland would complement the Scottish Forestry Strategy and lay down a clear blueprint for growing, harvesting and using more Scottish timber in Scotland over the coming decades. Such strategies have been developed and supported by governments in England and Wales, and will unlock investment and inspire new and emerging products and technologies such as wood fibre insulation, engineered wood and manufacture of bio-based products.
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Plant more trees: The next Scottish Government MUST meet Scotland’s clearly stated, and agreed, tree planting targets - 18,000 hectares of new woodland creation every year by 2029-30 (restated in the Climate Change Plan, 2026-2040) and increasing woodland cover to 24% by 2040. This would provide confidence in long-term timber supply, to secure rural jobs and growth - and support Scotland’s net zero targets. A minimum of 60% of the area of all new woodland should be productive forest containing fast-growing conifers, to provide the timber needed to build new homes, support rural economies and make a faster, more tangible impact on meeting Scotland’s climate ambitions.
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Use more wood in construction: Scotland builds more than 90% of new homes using timber frames. However, most of the timber used is imported. The next Scottish Government should work with industry to set a specific target for the percentage of home-grown wood used in construction – to create more sustainable end-to-end supply chains, where wood is grown in Scottish forests, processed in Scottish factories and used to build Scottish homes and commercial buildings. The Scottish Government should also specify that timber should be used as a material of first choice in new public buildings – a ‘timber first’ policy.
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Create a new forestry strategy for a new decade: The current Scottish Forestry Strategy runs to 2029, so will need to be revisited during the next Parliament. The Strategy should enhance the production of wood, deliver existing tree planting targets and provide the long-term confidence needed to unlock greater investment, complementing the new Timber Industrial Strategy for Scotland.
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Develop a forestry and timber skills plan for Scotland: Increased skills and recruitment into the forestry and timber industry is vital to unlock further economic growth. In addition to supporting the industry Forestry Training Service, the Scottish Government should work with Confor to attract more people – including military veterans – into the industry.
Our latest political activity in Scotland
Confor and Woodland Trust Scotland call for Scottish Government to bridge chasm
between forestry ambition and reality
Confor Chief Executive Stuart Goodall and Woodland Trust Scotland Director Alastair Seaman have written to Cabinet Secretary for Finance Shona Robison on behalf of Scotland’s leading woodland conservation charity and the leading forestry industry association of the UK.
The Forestry Grant Scheme (FGS) administered by Scottish Forestry is the bread and butter of funding for woodland creation and management in Scotland. The sector is still reeling from a 41% (£45.5 million) cut to the grant budget imposed in 2024-25. Even though some of this was reversed, there remains a chasm between targets for woodland creation and delivery.
The Scottish Government’s Climate Change plan demands 18,000 hectares of new woodland per year, but the grant pot only stretches to 10,000 hectares.
The joint letter appeals for an increase in investment in the Forestry Grant Scheme to £70 million in 2026-27, and incrementally to £100 million by the end of the next session of Parliament.