asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the average net income, including interest, from capital from privately-owned forests in Scotland during the years 1966 to 1974; and if he will make a statement.

No official statistics are held, but, according to sample surveys of private forestry income and expenditure in Scotland carried out annually by the University of Aberdeen, the estimated average net income per acre from privately-owned managed woodlands in Scotland for the years 1966 to 1973 was:

Year to 30th September	£ per acre
1966	0·04
1967	-0·57
1968	-0·12
1969	-1·05
1970	-0·77
1971	-1·41
1972	-2·35
1973	-1·58

Statistics for 1974 are not yet available.The figures take into account grant-aid from the Forestry Commission, but they exclude interest on capital and the effects of personal taxation for which no information is available. Annual net income has fallen recently, largely because of increased expenditure on new planting and because timber sales have been relatively low owing to the immaturity of the plantations.