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Commons Bill [HL]

moved Amendment No. 238:"Page 24, line 40, leave out paragraphs (b) to (d)." The noble Lord said: The amendment is a result of intensive discussions with commons associations, in particular, and seeks to leave out paragraphs (b) to (d). Those paragraphs refer to Natural England, the Countryside Council for Wales and a national park authority. This would leave in place the appropriate national authority in paragraph (a), which is the Secretary of State in England and a Minister in the National Assembly for Wales. They are the only departments with agricultural expertise that can judge whether agricultural activities are unauthorised. There could be situations where the authorities listed in paragraphs (b) to (d) might use criteria other than agricultural ones to judge whether an activity is unauthorised. There is confidence, certainly among commons associations, that the Secretary of State and the Minister in the National Assembly are by far best placed to make that judgment. Certainly in Wales the agricultural capacity to carry sufficient livestock to sustain the occupants of a dominant holding is important for the economic viability of that farm and the farming family, which may have been sustained over many generations by their grazing rights on common land. It is very difficult to generalise because in some areas the in-bye land of the dominant holding is quite small whereas it may be larger in other parts of the United Kingdom. Where I come from, the relationship between the rather small amount of land on a dominant holding and the larger amount of grazing capacity on commons is crucial to keeping family farms going. A balance must be struck between ensuring the agricultural viability of a holding in relation to grazing on common land and upholding environmental considerations, for which the Secretary of State and the Minister in the National Assembly for Wales have responsibility. They have overall responsibility for those matters and are regarded as the best placed to judge in those situations. I beg to move.