Clause 74 - Maximum duration of agreement

Part of Natural Environment and Rural Communities Bill – in a Public Bill Committee at 11:00 am on 5 July 2005.

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Photo of Robert Goodwill Robert Goodwill Conservative, Scarborough and Whitby 11:00, 5 July 2005

Surely in those circumstances, if a local wildlife trust, for example, were to enter into an agreement, the fact that the agreement would be renewed regularly would give the trust an added incentive to deliver on it. I suggest to the Minister that a long agreement is less likely to provide that incentive. It is interesting that in his remarks on previous clauses, he talked about the legislation having to stand the test of time. The inflexibility of a 20-year period in the agreements means that it is less future-proof than it would otherwise be.