Commons Bill [HL]

Perhaps I may respond to what the Minister has just said about the amendment moved by my noble friend Lord Livsey of Talgarth. I would like to be reassured by what the Minister said because I believe very much in flexibility and I hope that we can find a way in which any arbitration system of the future is more flexible than it has been in the past. I do not have any direct interest in the commoners’ position—I do not have any common rights or ownership rights—but I know a lot of the commoners in the south west of England, who I think would have the same sort of experiences as my noble friend described in Wales. They tend to be small farmers. They tend not to have great resources. If we can do anything to make the system of arbitration as simple and as inexpensive as possible, I am with the Minister. But my noble friend was right to draw attention to the role of the commissioners because they have proved to be a well used route for arbitration. What the Minister has not told us is whether his objection to their continuation in that role is based on the fact that he considers them to be unnecessary, obsolete or superfluous, or to be incompetent and inadequate. Above this place, I would suggest to noble Lords, we ought always to have that motto: ““If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it””. Resort to the commissioners is a well established procedure and many have found their arbitration useful. There are a great many distinguished lawyers in your Lordships’ House and I am not one of them, so I would not like to repeat the view of lawyers that Shakespeare had in Henry IV, Part 2; that is, ““Let’s hang ‘em””, but if we can avoid the expense of the legal process, we would be doing all sides a service. The Minister has said that the use of ““a pool of inspectors”” should be flexible and that it would not necessarily involve lawyers, but I am much more concerned that those who are seeking a decision from the arbitration system do not have to go to the expense of using lawyers. I am far from convinced that what the Minister has told us is going to make it cheaper and more accessible for those who have a just reason for seeking arbitration. It seems to me that the Minister may be more concerned about the call on the public purse of expensive litigation than about those who are seeking justice from the system from the other side. If the result of this Bill, when it is enacted, is that more commoners have to go to the court, particularly if it is the High Court, it is going to be a great deal more expensive and it is going to discourage them from seeking the justice they deserve.