Commons Bill [HL]

I thank the noble Earl; he put it more succinctly than I could have done. One problem that could arise from the amendment is that a commons association may not be representative of all the interests in a common. Associations can be established, for example, without the support of all rights holders and owners. We are not talking about a public body representing the interests and needs of all the users of a common. Negotiations are not a matter of the status of the bodies involved; they are about arriving at a conclusion beneficial to all. Once a statutory commons association is in place, it will acquire status by virtue of its ability to represent the interests in the common, and its ability to deliver on that commitment through the promotion of binding rules. Bodies such as Natural England will deal with the commons association because it is, so to speak, the only relevant body. The amendment is not needed to give an artificial boost to the status of a commons association, because the very purpose of the association being formed is to enable negotiations and discussions on the specific common. I hope that I have explained that clearly enough to satisfy the noble Lord, and am grateful to the noble Earl for his assistance in drawing the Committee’s attention to problems.