Natural Environment and Rural Communities Bill

We are expecting the CRC to be an independent body operating at arm’s length from government. Therefore, we should not remove its discretion to decide what information it publishes or otherwise makes publicly available. The commission should be able to judge for itself whether it would be appropriate to publish documents or provide information on a case-by-case basis. That will allow it to draw attention to specific rural issues at appropriate times and to contribute effectively to wider debates on rural matters. The CRC will, of course, be required to publish an annual report to the Secretary of State. Paragraph 22(1) of Schedule 2 makes provision for this. We also expect it to continue to publish an annual ““state of the countryside”” report. Under Clause 19(c), it already has a duty to report on its monitoring of the extent to which rural service delivery policies are meeting rural needs. In gathering evidence and providing advice on rural issues, the CRC will be subject to both the Freedom of Information Act and data which should ensure appropriate access to information for all interested parties. My noble friend Lord Carter wickedly raised the issue of the difference between ““may”” and ““shall””. He has longer experience of parliamentary draftsmen than I do, and knows—as I do—that in the general world there are some differences, but that in the parliamentary draftsman’s world there are major differences. I therefore hope that the noble Baroness, with all those assurances about access to information, will feel able to make the parliamentary draftsman’s life a happy one.