Commons Bill [Lords]

I will deal with those details later in my speech. I do not need to tell the House that protecting our biodiversity is important, or that healthy, thriving and diverse ecosystems are essential to a healthy, thriving and diverse society. Biodiversity should be valued not just for its own sake but for all its benefits and opportunities—not only environmental benefits, but economic and social benefits, such as health, recreation and education. Surveys have told us that people are more concerned about the quality of their natural environment than anything else, and biodiversity is a major part of that. Natural green spaces such as commons provide whole communities with access to recreation and a chance to experience nature at first hand. In the Cotswolds—at Minchinhampton common, for example—there is a strong sense of identity and community. The limestone downland is maintained through grazing by commons animals. Early purple orchids and cowslips can be seen there now, and later in the year there will be orchids, chalkhill blue butterflies and fritillaries. Large numbers of people visit from Stroud, Gloucester and the surrounding area, making use of local facilities and bringing many benefits to the local economy. That all makes biodiversity an essential component of sustainable development. That is why the Government are firmly committed to achieving all our biodiversity targets for 2010, both at home and internationally. The England biodiversity strategy sets out our plans to integrate biodiversity into policy making and practice across all sectors and at all levels. We have achieved much already, including through new measures in the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006, but more is needed. We must also continue to report on and measure our progress, and to communicate and demonstrate clearly the value of biodiversity so that all its benefits can be realised. In the context of common land, that poses a particular challenge. A lack of effective management has resulted in only 57 per cent. of SSSI commons being in good or improving condition—significantly less than the 72 per cent. of all SSSIs in similar condition. That is why the Commons Bill is one of our key tools for promoting biodiversity in this country. It will facilitate local management of commons where none has been achievable in the past, helping us to achieve our public service agreement target to get 95 per cent. of SSSIs into favourable condition by 2010. As I have discovered, however, common land is never a straightforward subject. There is a complex web of interaction on our commons, which we must address holistically. This Bill provides for improved management and protection of commons, and brings the registration system up to date. Let me explain briefly how it works, and I will be glad to touch on the point raised by the hon. Member for Buckingham (John Bercow). Part 1 of the Bill is about the registration of common land. It builds on the Commons Registration Act 1965, which created registers of every common and town or village green in England and Wales. Unfortunately, the 1965 Act was flawed: registration was a snapshot only, with little provision for keeping records up to date. The Bill provides for the registers to be updated, and kept that way, with provision for electronic registers.