Natural Environment and Rural Communities Bill

moved Amendment No. *119:"Page 14, line 9, after ““Wales”” insert ““or Natural England””" The noble Earl said: My Lords, in Committee I moved an amendment which would have put an obligation on Natural England to adhere to the United Nations Environmental Programme on Biological Diversity under the general purpose clause of the Bill. The Minister resisted my argument, I think principally on the grounds that the convention is already included in Clause 40. Although not as rigorous as my amendment, Clause 40 does put a duty on a Minister of the Crown, government department and the National Assembly for Wales to have regard to the convention. This amendment is simply to establish whether Natural England is included under this Section. I probably should have included CCW in my amendment, and for that I apologise to the noble Lord, Lord Livsey, in particular. That was clearly an oversight on my part, but the thrust of the argument remains the same. I imagine that the bodies must be included, as it would be somewhat farcical for such a commitment to be put on a Minister and a government department but not their principal adviser on nature conservation. This is principally a probing amendment, and I assume and hope that the Minister will confirm that both Natural England and CCW are included. I beg to move.