Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which Ministers in her Department are responsible for the corporate governance and regulation of the Forestry Commission.

The Forestry Commission is a cross-border Non Ministerial Department with a governance framework set out in the Forestry Act 1967 (as amended). It is headed by a Board of Commissioners, established by statute. In England, the Forestry Commissioners are responsible for the Forestry Commission’s governance and are accountable to the Secretary of State. As Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the Environment and Rural Life Opportunities, I act on behalf of the Secretary of State in this regard.