Natural Environment and Rural Communities Bill

I join in thanking the noble Lord, Lord Dixon-Smith, for instigating this interesting debate about very important topics. First, I shall deal shortly with Amendment No. 106, which he moved, which would add ““developed”” to the clause. We are not sure that that would add anything of significance. I shall come back to the noble Lord, Lord Rotherwick, in due course, but the phrase, ““conserved, enhanced and managed”” is very broad. Action of a developmental nature could be part of a conservation scheme, developing the measures that protect a rare species from further loss. It could be part of an enhancement scheme, restoring derelict land to make it attractive and accessible to local communities. Most of all, it could be part of the management of the local environment that encompasses a huge range of actions. From a purely presentational point of view—this point was made by my noble friend Lord Judd and others—we would prefer not to use the word ““developed”” as part of Natural England’s general purpose. The development of the natural environment is associated in many people’s minds—whether fairly or not—with built development. Although Natural England may be occasionally responsible for built development in the natural environment, using the term in its general purpose would not be the best way to tell people about its core purpose. Thank you for the debate on that, but we think that it is the wrong word. Perhaps the noble Lord agrees—I do not know. I turn to the heart of what the noble Lord was talking about, which is climate change and what is and what is not suitable to include in the Bill about that and the general purpose of Natural England. The amendment would make it clear that promoting countryside development that assists the limitation of carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere is part of Natural England’s general purpose. I think that it is now a given, especially in this House, that climate change is not just vital but the issue for our generation. Of course, the Government expect Natural England, in common with all other public bodies, to play an active role in combating its effect. However, that is a very wide-ranging agenda, in which Natural England will not be the lead player. Who is the lead player is a more difficult question to answer. One must say, at the moment, the Government—the Government in the broader sense. Defra has a large role to play in climate change but, as the noble Baroness has implied, other departments have a role to play, so government is probably the best answer to that question. As a key element of the broader sustainable development agenda, climate change will be an important part in the context in which Natural England operates. There is no doubt that relevant action to mitigate climate change could fall within Natural England’s general purpose. That is an important statement. However, it will approach it from the point of view of an organisation whose functions, powers and expertise lie in environmental management. As I tried to explain earlier, the items listed in Clause 2(2)(a) to (e), are a selection of what is contained within Natural England’s purpose. Of course, the list could be much longer, but that would not necessarily increase its value as a means of clarifying its role in conserving, enhancing and managing the natural environment—again, a point that my noble friend Lord Judd made. So the amendment would not help to clarify the issue. The noble Earl, Lord Peel, asked a question to which the answer is yes. He will of course remember what his question was. On whether the approach in the Bill is wide enough, the consequences of climate change for the natural environment will be core business for Natural England. The overall aim of reducing carbon emissions will be an aspect of sustainable development that Natural England will consider in pursuit of the existing wording. Many noble Lords have emphasised the importance of the independence of Natural England. I now return to subsection (2). The current wording of sustainable development in subsection (1) strikes the right balance between guidance from statute on priorities and the great need to allow the board of Natural England to decide its priorities as an independent organisation. I have done my best to answer who is responsible for climate change. Local authorities, not the regional development agencies, give planning permission and are key bodies. There are 388 of them, which emphasises that all public bodies have a role to play. I do not think that I need to go into the exact wording of the amendment and whether it is suitable in the context of the Bill. On conserving and enhancing, the definition of those words is that conserving means protecting from harm or destruction. Natural conservation, set out in Clause 30, means the conservation of flora, fauna, geological or physiographical features; while enhancing has a different meaning, which is to improve the quality, value or extent of something. No doubt we shall return to that in due course. Once again, I thank the noble Lord.