HC Deb 04 December 1985 vol 88 cc296-7
13. Mr. Soames

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on his Department's policy towards the national parks.

Mr. Waldegrave

Our policy is one of firm support, represented by the necessary financial and statutory backing.

Mr. Soames

Is my hon. Friend aware that the splendour of our national parks is regularly spoilt by a selfish minority scattering litter wholesale? Will he give strong support to the Keep Britain Tidy campaign and encourage the national parks to provide more facilities for the disposal of litter?

Mr. Waldegrave

I strongly support what my hon. Friend has said. The Department gives considerable support to the Keep Britain Tidy group, and we intend to continue that support. There has also been increased support in real terms for the Countryside Commission and in the national parks supplementary grant in recent years.

Dr. David Clark

After Okehampton, the Minister's assurances about national parks have a somewhat hollow ring. As the Bill which effectively creates a national park in Norfolk has been declared hybrid, will the Government provide time for the introduction of that Bill, which will have the support of the House?

Mr. Waldegrave

After Okehampton —in fact, that Bill is still being debated in another place —I draw entirely the opposite conclusion. The care that both Houses have taken over that matter shows that no decision affecting a national park can be taken lightly.

With regard to the Broads Bill, the problem is not so much that the Bill has been declared hybrid, as that it has been found to contain too much public matter for a private Bill. Discussions about the future of that Bill continue.