Commons Bill [HL]

Amendment No. 238 would remove Natural England, the Countryside Council for Wales and national park authorities from the list of relevant authorities, leaving only the national authority in each country able to exercise the power to stop unauthorised agricultural activities. The circumstances where that power might need to be exercised may sometimes be more readily apparent to bodies functioning at a regional level rather than central government, and such bodies may sometimes be better able to act swiftly to resolve any problems. We consider the Countryside Council for Wales and Natural England to be the appropriate bodies to take enforcement action. The Countryside Council for Wales and Natural England have, or will have, subject to legislation, regional personnel and will be suited to carry out this function. They are capable of making an informed judgment about whether the criteria for using this power are met by conditions on the ground. They will also have the range of expertise and skills to decide on the best course of action to stop the activity occurring and will be able to take swift and effective action to resolve problems. We will, however, look again at the role of national park authorities. We can see that the duties of park authorities may sometimes conflict with agricultural interests on commons and may lack the range of skills and expertise that are necessary for the effective use of this power. We will therefore reconsider their role here. Amendment No. 239 would enable local authorities to use this power. We do not think that they are suitable bodies to assume this role. The exercise of the power will require a good understanding of agricultural systems and local farming practices. It may also require expertise in ecology, commoning practices and farm economics. Few, if any, local authorities will be able to call on the range of expertise needed. In addition, many local authorities are unlikely to be able to provide the personnel required to visit, collect data, analyse and understand the agricultural activities occurring and their effects on remote commons. I therefore ask the noble Lord to withdraw the amendment.