Natural Environment and Rural Communities Bill

It has been a great pleasure to be involved with the Bill. We have a duty to preserve and protect the environment, particularly the rural environment that we inherited from our forefathers. Some of us who have had the benefit of holidaying in foreign climes have been impressed by what we saw: we enjoyed the experience, but coming back and driving through England and Wales, as I did last Friday in lovely autumn weather, allows us to appreciate the real jewel that we possess. We have a duty to preserve it and should devote our energies to doing so. I want to make a point about devolution. The environment is certainly something that cannot be put into separate compartments. My strong aspiration is for devolution, not separation and isolation. People need to devise good solutions that are appropriate to their particular area. They should then be generous in sharing and extending good practice. The environment cannot be separated in any way and we cannot do good work unless we co-operate. Some Government amendments encourage me to believe that the necessary work can take place. Consultation with the devolved assemblies in respect of policy and the appointment of members will help to accomplish that. I wish that all Ministers were as understanding of devolution issues as the present Minister has proved to be. He needed a little bit of encouragement and prompting from time to time, but he has helped us to produce a Bill that is a lot better than it was initially, and I thank the Minister for that.