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Commons Bill [Lords]

I am rather nervous about amendment No. 117. It may be giving powers to local authorities to exercise functions for which they are not fully up to speed. My local authorities are skilled in many things and they perform the functions currently conferred upon them reasonably well. The idea that they would be able to manage commons, even ones that are not claimed and are not currently identified, and perform some of the functions of the commons associations, with the proper skills and knowledge that some of those associations must have, is rather stretching the point. If the councils in my constituency had to undertake the function and had to get up to speed, I shudder to think of the cost involved in employing the experts that they would no doubt bring in, along with hundreds of consultants, to run a common.