Commons Bill [HL]

moved Amendment No. 77A:"Page 9, line 43, at end insert—" ““(11)   Subsection (7) shall not be taken to apply to the National Trust Acts 1907 to 1971.”” The noble Baroness said: In moving Amendment No. 77A, I shall speak also to Amendments Nos. 191A and 228A. The amendments have been sensibly grouped together as they all refer to the National Trust. As the clauses stand, they enable the national authority in certain situations to amend, revoke and repeal by order the parts of the National Trust Acts 1907 to 1971 that deal with common land. Many local and personal Acts typically deal with a particular local common. The National Trust Acts are fundamentally different because they cover large areas of commons nationally and do not apply to the discreet local commons. Consequently, any amendment to the parts of the National Trust Acts dealing with commons will affect large numbers of commoners. Understandably, the department has said that it needs the provisions in the Bill because it would be too difficult to locate all the relevant local and personal Acts to deal with them individually in the Bill. But perhaps the Minister would agree that it is not appropriate to include the National Trust Acts within the provisions. If the parts of the National Trust Acts dealing with common land are to be amended in future, the full parliamentary process should be adhered to. The national nature of the National Trust Acts perhaps invites a more detailed treatment, thus protecting the trust’s ability to protect commons in the national public interest for their public access, wildlife and landscape value. I beg to move.