Clause 2 - General purpose
Natural Environment and Rural Communities Bill
12:30 pm
James Paice (Shadow Minister (Agriculture), Environment, Food & Rural Affairs; South East Cambridgeshire, Conservative)
I accept, as the Minister kindly acknowledged, that the list in subsection (2) is not exclusive. However, does the Minister accept that specifying five items in the Bill would lead most observers to consider those the five main aspects of the general purpose and to view matters not listed as somehow secondary? That is why the amendments are so important, particularly as they deal with rural communities. Their exclusion implies that they are not seen as part of the primary purpose, even though the general purpose covers them. Not being specified in the Bill will lead to their being seen as less important.