Natural Environment and Rural Communities Bill

My Lords, with the leave of the House, having spoken to the amendment of my noble friend Lord Dixon-Smith, perhaps I could now speak to Amendments Nos. 50 and 52—in the name of my noble friend Lady Byford in the case of Amendment No. 50, and the name of the noble Baroness, Lady Miller, in the case of Amendment No. 52. Before doing so—it was an error on my part—I should have declared an interest when I last spoke. I own land in the north of England. Briefly, I have great sympathy for Amendment No. 50 and would support it. However, in exactly the same way that the noble Lord, Lord Cameron, has just expressed it, I have difficulty with Amendment No. 52. This new body, Natural England, will have to decide how best to carry out its responsibilities under the general purposes clause of the Bill. Clearly, Natural England’s brief is principally one of promoting nature conservation. I believe that that is absolutely right and proper. I think it is very important that, notwithstanding Amendment. No. 50, Clause 2(2)(e) includes the opportunity for Natural England to contribute in other ways,"““to social and economic well-being through management of the natural environment””." That will require a delicate balance. Indeed, I supported an amendment in Committee in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Cameron, which would have substituted Clause 2(2)(e) with a somewhat stronger socio-economic remit. We felt that there is a danger that some rural economic activities could be unnecessarily compromised by the general purposes clause. I think I am right in saying that my noble friend Lady Byford supported this amendment. That being the case, it is perhaps a little surprising that she has moved this conflict resolution amendment which would virtually destroy any degree of latitude or compromise in Natural England’s operations. I fully understand and appreciate the sentiment behind the amendment, but sustainable development is not always about conservation of the natural environment in isolation. Economic and social issues are often intertwined and cannot be regarded in isolation. The noble Baroness, Lady Young, made reference to the example of the Country Land and Business Association. I think that her analogy, on that occasion, was probably reasonably accurate. If, for example, you had a large upland SSSI on which a farmer or a land manager wanted to insert a track that might enhance the actual management of that area with benefits to the nature conservation value of the site, then, under my noble friend’s amendment, I do not think that Natural England would have any option but to say no. So this choice, this delicate balance, which is so vital to the success of Natural England, cannot be compromised. I appreciate that my noble friend’s amendment will deal only with what she described as ““significant cases””, but we have all seen it in practice. At a local level, small decisions can suddenly become increasingly significant. So I hope that my noble friend will not press her amendment. I have had the pleasure of working with her very closely on rural matters for many years and I do not think I have ever had a real disagreement with her. However, on this occasion, I am bound to say that if she were to press her amendment, I would have no option but to vote against it.