Commons Bill [HL]

The noble Lord’s point is so good that, if the Committee agrees, we will take out paragraph (g) of subsection (3)—we were going to do that before the noble Lord spoke. Amendment No. 159, to which the noble Duke spoke, includes in the illustrative list of functions given to a commons association the power to control access of common rights holders and their animals to a common. That is not necessary, as subsection (3)(a) and subsection (1) as amended by government Amendment No. 142 would allow commons associations to be given a function of making rules relating to the management of agricultural activities. Limiting periods when rights-holders can de-pasture their animals on a common will be a key management tool for any association, so we do not see the need to express that as a separate function in the Bill.