Commons Bill [HL]

I speak to Amendment No. 124, which is in this group. I draw the Committee’s attention to the difficulties with electronic registers of maps. Conversations that I have had, particularly with commoners’ associations, have revealed that maps are not aligned with electronic maps such as those of common land made by the CCW in Wales. I think the Committee will agree on the need to ensure that maps are aligned and coterminous with registers that reflect information on the ground. The 1904 edition of the register of common land maps, for example, is often found in a farm house. Something has to be done about the situation. It is clearly desirable that electronic information is kept but there is a lot of tradition in the countryside. Although commons registration authorities are often up to speed electronically, commons associations are not. Surely a dispute or discussion must be based on the same information and the same map. That really needs to be sorted out. I attended a meeting of commoners in a region called Tawe Uchaf which is at the top end of the Swansea valley. Some 85 commoners came to the meeting which had been called by the CCW and the national park to discuss the mapping done as a result of the CROW Act. The national park representative said, ““Of course you can find all the information on our website””. I stopped him in his tracks and took a straw poll of the commoners. As I suspected, only six of the 85 had a computer or access to one. The situation has improved in the past three years. Having been involved in lecturing younger farmers, I know that they are up to speed. However, we must remember that many of those about whom we are talking have an average age between 55 and 60 and there is a communications problem that we need to sort out. So although it is desirable to make the whole procedure electronic, we also need standardisation, particularly in the mapping of the information dealt with in this amendment. The amendment seeks to put that right.