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Natural Environment and Rural Communities Bill

My Lords, I shall listen to one part of the Minister’s reply very carefully—when he replies to the point made by the noble Baroness, Lady Byford, on the police’s enforcement powers when a right of way is used and a claim has been submitted but not actually determined. I believe that the police have the powers to deal with anyone who uses a right of way for which a claim has been made but which is not recorded on the definitive map, and any feebleness by the police to prosecute those is something on which we should press very hard. There is no doubt at all that the use of many of the rights of way—as the noble Baroness, Lady Byford, said—is quite contrary to the use of the rights of way for horse-riders, walkers and those who wish—and this is what most people want—to enjoy the peace and quiet of the countryside. So I shall be looking in the Minister’s reply for a definite statement on what the police are expected to do, and what they can do, about claims which have not been processed and agreed to and the work carried through to a mark on the definitive map.