private and public woodlands

On a day that the Government U-turned on the inclusion of Forestry Commission land in The Public Bodies Bill, I've got round to the first proper planting on my own plot.
A 1.5m tall female Black Poplar from a small nursery stock of native trees I have at home...

From Meadowcopse 2011

(Probably another 1000 trees to plant yet though).
Also half of a 100m line of young ash trees have gone in along the north boundary (this may be expanded to an avenue, approximately recreating the tree-lined track on the 1800s maps).

Another bundle of 50 hawthorns to pick up tomorrow from Morrey's nursery at Kelsall for filling in hedge gaps.
Down at the field, a lot of willow along the boundary has sprouted into bud, I'm going to try some stem cuttings straight into the ground.

Watching Parliament on TV today, some of the later questions touched on grants and taxation and access regarding private woodlands.
For various reasons, I've not taken advantage of The Woodland Grant Scheme for my own plot, although reading recently - a Welsh version of the scheme (100 metres to the border) is under subscribed and suited for small patches of woodland on farm land.
Something that repeatedly annoyed me from the Conservative side of the house was reference to Forestry Commission sales under Labour (about 25,000ha) - For some years I've belonged to a small trust that bought a patch of Forestry Commission land under John Major's 1990s Conservative administration. A partial breakdown of sales is in Hansard from 1996.
I'm still curious as to what prompted an announcement from 10 Downing Street late at night ahead of the Secretary of State's formal announcement?
I'm hoping the campaigns by 38 Degrees and Save Our Woods had profound effect (together with local focus like Save Delamere Forest).
I hope the Government's change isn't a smoke-screen or a portent to complicated and convoluted changes to UK woodland and forestry policy?