Moved by
Lord Whitty
158: After Clause 16, insert the following new Clause—
“Smallholdings estates
(1) Every smallholdings authority which, before the commencement of Part 1 of this Act, holds any land for the purposes of smallholdings must—
(a) review its smallholdings estate, and
(b) before the period of 18 months beginning with the day Part 1 of this Act comes into force, submit to the Secretary of State proposals with respect to the future management of its land for the purposes of providing—
(i) opportunities for persons to be farmers on their own account;
(ii) education or experience in environmental land management practices for farmers, potential farmers and farm workers;
(iii) opportunities for increasing public access to the natural environment and understanding of sustainable farming; and
(iv) opportunities for innovation in sustainable land management practices.
(2) No land held by a smallholdings authority immediately before the commencement of Part 1 of this Act is to be conveyed, transferred, leased or otherwise disposed of other than—
(a) in connection with the purposes listed in subsection (1), or
(b) in accordance with the proposals submitted under subsection (1).
(3) For the purposes of this section “smallholdings authority” has the same meaning as in section 38 of the Agriculture Act 1970.”
Member’s explanatory statement
This new Clause would limit the disposal of "county farms" by local authorities and would require local authorities to review their holdings and submit proposals for future management to provide opportunities to extend farming to new farmers, provide agricultural education and stimulate innovation.