Commons Bill [HL]

My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Byford, very much for her support, and the noble Lord, Lord Jopling, who has a great deal of experience in this field. I was going to challenge the Minister on why this could not go on the face of the Bill. I accept in large part what he has said as reassurance about the activities of the inspectors and the fact that there will also be an independent panel operating—all of the things desired by those connected with commons. None the less, there are considerable variables in the administration of commons registration authorities. It is not surprising that in some urban areas there are many other problems for local authorities to deal with—commons are a marginal consideration. I bring to the Minister’s attention the fact that the response of commons registration authorities is not likely to be an even process. Some authorities are extremely well versed and up to speed with their records and registrations. Others, unfortunately, are not quite in that situation. I hear what the Minister says—that this is likely to appear in regulations. Like the noble Lord, Lord Jopling, I ask the Minister to think again about the matter. Everyone wants a body in which they have a great deal of confidence that it will come up with the right answers in the extremely difficult situations likely to appear in future. I will note what the Minister has said for the time being.