Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that Forestry England is able to maintain the (a) wages of its staff, and (b) number of jobs in its organisation during the covid-19 pandemic.
Defra and the Forestry Commission are discussing options to manage financial impacts arising from COVID-19. With reduced income from timber and visitors, Forestry England (FE) has made use of the Government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to reduce costs, protect jobs and retain staff. FE continues to manage and care for the nation’s forests, adapting working practices in line with public health guidelines.