---

Natural Environment and Rural Communities Bill

I hesitate to speak because I was not able to be present or take part at Second Reading. I will be extremely brief. I strongly support the amendments, from my personal experience. I am also hesitant because my experience is mostly in Scotland and therefore does not apply to this Bill. I was chairman of the Countryside Commission for Scotland and later chairman of the Scottish Development Agency, now Scottish Enterprise, so that I had, as it were, at one time one foot in the country and another in industry in the cities. Later still, I chaired a body that had direct access to the Prime Minister, and I totally support the fact that that access and that independence are fundamental. The issues facing the countryside in England and in Scotland at the moment are so great that this commission, with the independence proposed, is absolutely vital. I support the amendment.