New Clause 4

Part of Commons Bill [Lords] – in a Public Bill Committee at 2:45 pm on 27 April 2006.

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Photo of Jim Knight Jim Knight Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Rural Affairs, Landscape and Biodiversity), Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) (Rural Affairs, Landscape and Biodiversity) 2:45, 27 April 2006

I am grateful, as ever, to my hon. Friends. They will know that Natural England already has a power to carry out such activities when they benefit the natural environment. The Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006 gives Natural England the overarching purpose of ensuring that the natural environment is conserved, enhanced and managed for the benefit of present and future  generations. That includes promoting nature conservation and protecting biodiversity, conserving and enhancing the landscape, promoting public access and encouraging recreation in the countryside.

Natural England already has all the powers that it needs to carry out the activities set out in new clause 4 provided that they are beneficial to present and future generations. I worry that imposing a duty on it to carry out those activities would remove its element of discretion over whether such activities would be beneficial.

I appreciate that new clause 4 might be an attempt to establish what the Government see Natural England’s role to be in implementing the Bill. I told the fifth national seminar on commons in Cheltenham last year—an excellent event, which my hon. Friend the Member for Stroud attended—that I see Natural England becoming the Government’s champion for the management and well-being of common land.

We want Natural England to facilitate the establishment of commons associations where better management of a common would help to enhance biodiversity and public benefit, particularly on sites of special scientific interest, for example. However, imposing a duty to promote their formation in all cases might not be appropriate. Commons associations will be the key to improved management on some commons, but will not necessarily be appropriate for all of them.

The same applies to promoting the creation of greens. The Natural England bodies have a strong track record in local open space creation and protection, and we expect Natural England to build on that important work. Creation and protection of registered town and village greens is only one part of that activity.

Natural England is crucial to the implementation of the Bill and to the well-being of common land in general, but imposing a duty on it is unnecessary. I give an additional reassurance to my hon. Friends that I will write to Sir Martin Doughty, chair-designate of Natural England, enclosing a copy of what I have said, so that my expectations in respect of common land are clear at the outset.