SCOTLAND’S vital £1billion a year timber industry is coming under an increasing threat from renewable subsidies that have left the country facing sever wood shortages, it has been warned.
Michael Gove, Secretary of State for the Environment Food, was told of the impending crisis during a meeting with wood panel producers to hear about the challenges they’re facing sourcing their main raw material.
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Mr Gove, one of the candidates standing to be Prime Minister, was given a guided tour of Norbord’s operations in Cowie, Stirlingshire, accompanied by local MP Stephen Kerr, who also chairs the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for the wood panel industry.
Norbord and other leading manufacturers who are members of the Wood Panel Industries’ Federation (WPIF) have warned that a major government rethink is required to help the industry satisfy demand for its products, in order to secure thousands of jobs and help the UK face up to its housing crisis.
Timber is worth millions to the Scottish economy
A recent report carried out on behalf of the APPG for the wood panel industry, involving former Energy Minister, the Rt Hon Brian Wilson, concluded that wood availability will decrease dramatically within the next decade.
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The strain on the UK’s wood basket is being exacerbated by renewable energy subsidies and is creating real uncertainty for wood panel manufacturers while endangering the supply of key materials in the construction and house building sectors.
Steve Roebuck, Director of Environmental, Health and Safety at Norbord, said: "We’re not against the use of wood for energy, but continuing to use subsidy to drive wood towards energy is putting undue pressure our domestic wood supply.
"This threatens industries, such as construction and furniture manufacture, which rely on wood panels and sequester carbon for generations.
“The APPG expert working group report concludes that removing the subsidies which cover woody biomass would create a competitive, free market for all wood users competing for a finite resource base.
"The equalisation of the market would be the most desirable for wood panel manufacturers and would place all wood users on a level playing field."
He said that wood is needed in the construction sector and supplies must be assured if targets on the building of affordable housing are to be met.
Mr Roebuck said: “A point that I think all parties agree on is the pent-up demand in the requirement for low cost affordable housing.
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“If you’re not going to have wood panels manufactured in the UK, you’re going to import them, and you’re not going to make them out of steel, so this is a critical area that everybody is agreeing on – we have to build those houses and, to build those houses, you need wood-based panels. That’s 50 per cent of our business.”
Stephen Kerr, MP for Stirling and Chair of the APPG for the wood panel industry and expert working group, added: “I’m pleased Michael was able to visit a major contributor to the local and national economy.
"The wood panel manufacturing industry is a UK success story, with a contribution to the economy in excess of £850m per annum and an ability to meet 65% of the UK demand for wood panel products.
“This industry has the capability to increase production to meet the UK's demand for wood panel products and to do so with no reliance on imports of wood from elsewhere in the world. However, this is only possible if it has enough wood to sustain and grow its manufacturing capability.”
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The meeting came as the new government agency Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) announced a public consultation what it should prioritize for the next three years
Announcing the consultation, Rural Economy Secretary Fergus Ewing said:
“The forests contribute around £1 million each day to Scotland’s economy, support around 11,000 jobs and welcome around 10 million visitors every year."
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