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Broads Authority Bill

My Lords, I congratulate the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Norwich on the able way in which he has introduced consideration of the Bill. He has expressed admirably what the Broads mean to people in Norfolk and Suffolk and, of course, their national and international significance. Their management is of great importance, therefore, and their unique status, which he has also described, justifies close examination, the opportunity for which is being provided by scrutiny of the Bill. The right reverend Prelate mentioned the opinion of the Norfolk County Association of Parish and Town Councils, in which I declare an interest as its recently appointed president. I think that he also said—I do not want to misquote him—that there was no complete parish within the area that contains the Broads. Of course, however, the way in which they are managed affects the environment and livelihoods of people living in that part of Norfolk and Suffolk and, indeed, one might argue, in the whole of those counties. I am aware that many useful and helpful changes have been made to the Bill since its introduction and the right reverend Prelate has described the degree of consultation that has been undertaken by the Broads Authority. One of the most useful things to come out of the consultation has been the recognition, again on all sides, that the Broads are different in the range of their interests and their economy from other national parks and thus that arrangements made for their management should, in some respects, reflect that difference. I do not wish to impede the progress of the Bill because I know that the Broads Authority has worked hard to take account of the objections and concerns that have been raised during the consultation. However, noble Lords who have studied the fortunes of the Bill will know that from the beginning of its legislative journey real concerns have been voiced—not least in another place, where the Bill was twice blocked by objection—about the democratic deficit built into its governance arrangements. Indeed, the right reverend Prelate touched on those concerns. The Norfolk County Association of Parish and Town Councils has consistently lobbied for the Bill to include proposals for directly elected representatives of town and parish councils in the Broads area to the board of the Broads Authority. People in Norfolk and Suffolk, I think it would be fair to say, remain unconvinced that the Bill as it stands will enhance the accountability of the authority. It is the case, of course, that the authority’s membership includes local authority appointees. They provide an important link with the community but they do not include representatives of the first tier of local government, nor are they directly elected. In another place the attention of Members was drawn to the contrast with arrangements put in place in the National Parks (Scotland) Act 2000 whereby 20 per cent of members of the national park authority were to be elected by a poll of those on the local government electoral register within the park area. I have already stated that the arrangements for the Broads are different from those for national parks pure and simple, but I question whether the difference should extend to the principle of accountability. Concerns about accountability have been raised not only in another place but by the Select Committee. I would be grateful to hear from the Minister what plans he might have to rectify the democratic deficit identified in the legislative passage of the Bill so far. Incidentally, I welcome the Minister warmly to yet another manifestation. I wish him well in it. It is a big bracket. I feel certain that he will acquit himself in this role in just as distinguished a way as he has in the others in which I have known him—and that is, already, two in three years. In the Third Reading debate in another place, Jonathan Shaw said: "““As a number of hon. Members have said, the Bill is not the appropriate vehicle to change the constitution of the Broads Authority … I want to look at this across the piece to take account of the other national parks in England. I will therefore issue a consultation on the future of the constitution and the composition of the Broads Authority and other park authorities in England””.—[Official Report, Commons, 7/5/08; col. 802.]" The department’s website indicates a closing date for that consultation on 28 November, and I would welcome the Minister’s comments. Maybe, at this stage in his post, those comments will be speculation, but any comment that he cares to make will be welcome. I would also welcome the Minister’s comments on quite how the outcome of the consultation in Norfolk and Suffolk—and indeed elsewhere in the country—for the governance of the Broads and the national parks will be affected by the Government’s proposals for the reform of local government in the same areas. Given that citizens in this country are not being given a say in this process on what kind of local government structure they want, or indeed on whether they want it at all, the omens are not brilliant. However, I feel sure that the Minister, with his customary good cheer, will produce some comforting remarks for us all this evening.