Natural Environment and Rural Communities Bill

It is not our fault. We have tried three times to get it put on. The Deputy Chairman was quite right to raise whether we had indicated our intention to oppose clause stand part. This is my third attempt to try to get it rectified. I am very grateful to the Deputy Chairman of Committees. It has been a difficult night. I am seeking to find out what range of criminal proceedings is intended and why it is considered necessary to empower a person without the normal legal qualifications to act for them. My knowledge of court procedures and their effectiveness is limited. I am, however, aware that the employment tribunals allow non-legally qualified persons to act on behalf of those seeking the court’s help. I am also aware that from time to time there are mutterings about the amount of time wasted by persons who are not familiar with the rules and their established interpretation. How much worse will this be in a court which deals with a wide range of law? Will the operation of this clause be confined to, for example, wildlife offences, or will it find non- legals enforcing management agreements, acting in compulsory purchase matters or pursuing persons and authorities for non-payment of charges? It is difficult to escape the implication that if the Government consider it worth while to place such a clause in the Bill, there must be an expectation that there will be a considerable number of prosecutions, perhaps in the future. I apologise to everybody: it is not our fault.