Commons Bill [HL]

I can see that the amendment of the noble Lord, Lord Williams of Elvel, is really a probing amendment about the regulations. I would like just to make a comment about them as they already have been published. This is not another argument about severance, although severance is a very important part of the regulations. On most commons, a proportion of the rights is held by rights holders who no longer have, or who have never had, a close contact with the common. I am informed that, in some parts, the exact proportion ranges from small to as high as 80 per cent. Many of these rights have been leased for many years to farmers who have hefted flocks on the common and who are dependent on such leasing to augment their own rights so as to enable them to maintain a viable flock size. The Minister has already mentioned that the limit on the leasing of rights is going to be two years. I would ask him to consider that again because farming, as we all know, is a long-term enterprise, and the management of hefted flock on a common needs to be conducted over a longer period. Certainly, the Federation of Cumbria Commons states in its information that it would want the limit to be extended to 10 years. The Minister has said that Natural England might consider leasing the rights which it has acquired back to farmers. The two-year limit should be considered if sustainable agriculture—a term that the Minister favours—is to be undertaken.