Commons Bill [HL]

My Lords, the noble Duke raises a very interesting point, which I think is worthy of further discussion. There is a difference between a public, national charity such as the one that he quoted and a charity that is created, for example, by an individual in relation to a small community. Such a charity might indeed be a disadvantage to that community, as the community could end up having fewer rights to its town or village green than it had before the charity was created. This is an interesting point, and I regret that this is not Committee stage so that we could have more discussion about it. I can see that in terms of a charity existing as of this moment, there may be some fair points, as the noble Duke quoted from the charity commissioners. However, without exploring the pros and cons more fully at this stage, I would feel very wary about the amendment. The noble Duke has raised a very valid issue which needs to be discussed further in the other place.