Natural Environment and Rural Communities Bill

My Lords, I know that the noble Lord was trying to be helpful, but now I do not know the answer to two questions not just one. I have no doubt that guidance will come. Amendment No. 148 would apply a sort of sustainability test, to be applied by the Secretary of State to all byway applications received between 9 December 2003 and the commencement of the legislation, and require a traffic regulation order to be imposed where the test found that motor vehicle use would be damaging or dangerous to other users. It also introduces an element of retrospectivity into the provisions, which seems unfair to single out those BOATs that were added to the network during this period and require them to satisfy an additional test. We have severe reservations about a statutory approach to assessing the suitability of byways that have already been established. A similar approach was taken to the classification of roads used as public paths in the Countryside Act 1968 and disputes about some of these reclassifications are still ongoing. Such a measure would be neither fair nor practicable. To be effective, these proposals would require local knowledge and a local presence on the ground to enforce the orders, neither of which requirements the Secretary of State could fulfil. If the Secretary of State made traffic regulation orders, which would have to be enforced at a local level, it would impose significant new burdens on local authorities. Of course, I appreciate the widespread concern about the byway claims which are submitted during the passage of the Bill and we have introduced transitional arrangements to deal with these. But I fall back on the argument that the Government have to be fair and reasonable in the way that they deal with users of rights of way. It would not be reasonable to go back over byway claims already determined by local authorities and to impose traffic regulation orders on those authorities. Local authorities have such powers that they can apply themselves, if appropriate. The traffic regulation orders in place on the Ridgeway have demonstrated how quickly orders can be put in place, provided once a firm decision is made, backed by a prompt but robust assessment of the relative need to hold a public inquiry. We have just issued fresh guidance to local authorities on the use of traffic regulation orders. I shall do my best to answer the two questions. Can claimants continue to use the rights of way while an appeal is being considered? Yes, but once the cut-off date is reached, those claimants can be prosecuted if they continue to use the right of way.