Clause 10 - Consultancy services and training
Natural Environment and Rural Communities Bill
5:00 pm
Jim Knight (Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Rural Affairs, Landscape and Biodiversity), Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; South Dorset, Labour)
As always, I am grateful to my hon. Friend. Were it not for the fact that he is such an excellent Member of Parliament serving the people of Bassetlaw, he would clearly have had a future as a drafting official.
I refer to a conversation that we had this morning, when I said that in forming Natural England we are forming a legal person, and one would hope that a person has the capacity to think. I suggest that the body corporate’s thoughts would be made by the board, and as such they would be recorded as board decisions. They would therefore be subject to more scrutiny than my individual thoughts or those of other hon. Members.
As for the second “special” in subsection (2)(b), I am inclined to agree that “specialist” might be better. I shall reflect on that, taking advice from my good assistants, who have been listening carefully to my hon. Friend’s wise words. In general, I would say that in order to further its purpose, Natural England needs to be able to use its expertise to help others deliver. The clause allows Natural England to place its staff on secondment and provide training to any person.