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Housing and Regeneration Bill

I thank my noble friend Lord Greaves for his helpful amendment. I do not disagree with any noble Lord that allotments should be managed locally. The comments of the noble Lord, Lord Dixon-Smith, were helpful, because provision and management are separate. For that reason, I was interested also in the experience of the noble Baroness, Lady Ford, who spoke about the thought that goes into planning. That reflects the Allotments Act 1925, which states: "““Every local authority … preparing a town-planning scheme in pursuance of the Town Planning Act, 1925, shall, in preparing such scheme, consider what provision ought to be included therein for the reservation of land for allotments””." The noble Baroness’s experience is useful in instructing us to make sure that in every scheme, especially if the HCA is to be the planning authority, that Act is followed. I am glad that the noble Lord, Lord Howarth, asked me what I considered a sufficient number, because there is a gap in the legislation. It would be usual for the Government to come up with guidance about that. I have cited many numbers today, but that is the only one to which I may want to return on Report. The noble Lord mentioned waiting lists. I am not aware of any local authority prioritising people with young children or people who have just retired; I think that it is Buggins’s turn. When you put your name down, you wait. If you are not dead by the time you rise to the top of the list, you get an allotment. I thank the Minister for her full reply. We may come back with a better definition of ““sufficient”” on Report.