Natural Environment and Rural Communities Bill

In speaking to Clause 25, I will add briefly to the points made on Clause 16. I remain uneasy about the powers given to the Secretary of State by these clauses. I will study the present position of English Nature and the Countryside Agency in the light of the Minister’s assurance that there is to be no increase in powers. Clause 25 is shorter than and as widely drawn as Clause 16. Following the Minister’s reply on Clause 16, will he give the Committee an assurance that if and when directions are made they will either address administrative matters of limited significance or will be made, as he suggested just now, as a move of last resort to deal with manifestly unreasonable behaviour by the commission? This latter point is well illustrated by Defra’s memorandum to the Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee, which refers to paragraph 103 of Schedule 11 and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. The final sentence of the memorandum reads:"““If the Secretary of State felt that her intervention was required because the Board was proposing to act unreasonably, then she could still exercise control by issuing directions to the Board””." I also ask the Minister to assure the House that, as with Natural England, no directions are at present contemplated and that, if there were to be, your Lordships’ House would be informed before Report.