Commons Bill [HL]

Following what the noble Baroness, Lady Miller, has said, clearly English Nature or Natural England, as it will be, has certain responsibilities concerning the condition of SSSIs. From what I can see, it is fairly clear that at the moment English Nature appears to be quite unencumbered in its ability to enter into management agreements with individual farmers on commons to achieve its objectives. Does the Minister feel that the necessity for the formation of commons associations is as great as he thinks? If English Nature can achieve its objectives and the farmers can enter into management agreements, as they do at the moment, it is more likely to be the commons that have not been designated as SSSIs and perhaps want to enter into an agri-environment scheme—or are being encouraged to enter one—that are likely to form associations. The number may not be as great as we think.