Natural Environment and Rural Communities Bill

I will certainly look into the point that the right hon. Gentleman makes and find a suitable opportunity to respond fully; I am certainly unable to do so now. These Lords amendments are intended to clarify the interpretation of the statutory criteria for the designation of national parks under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949, in line with how they have been generally understood and applied for the past 56 years. As we have heard, they are being introduced in response to a judgment on a High Court challenge to the New Forest national park designation order of 2005. The amendments return the situation to one in which we have what were generally understood, prior to the judgment, to be the relevant criteria, but with greater clarity.