NORTHERN PENNINES RURAL DEVELOPMENT BOARD ORDER 1969 (Hansard, 22 July 1969)

§ Lord BESWICK
My Lords, I beg to move that the Northern Pennines Rural Development Board Order 1969, a draft of which was laid before this House on July 1, be approved. Part III of the Agriculture Act 1967 provides the power to set up these Boards. It was announced initially that there would be only one or two Boards, and this will be the first. The powers and the functions of a Rural Development Board are set out in Sections 45 to 55 of the 1967 Act. The area chosen for this Board is some 3, 000 square miles of hills and uplands stretching from the Scottish Border to the Skipton Gap. It is a sparsely populated area, containing no town above 2, 500 in size. Agriculture 883 of an upland rearing character predominates; but out of some 6, 000 farms less than one-third are up to the commercial level of size as defined in the Act. Forestry is active in the North of the area but much less so in other parts. The area also includes two National Parks, and I am sure we can look forward to useful co-operation between these bodies and the Board.
If the House approves the Order, the intention is that it should be made to come into operation next month. Certain of the Board's powers will not come into effect until three months later. This breathing period should permit the Board to ensure smooth operation and to avoid delays. I hope that all of us will wish well to this new Board, and, under the chairmanship of Mr. T. J. Cowen, M.B.E., I certainly wish it every success. My Lords, I beg to move.

Lord INGLEWOOD
My Lords, I certainly think that we should wish this Board well. It is going to affect the lives of a great many people and have very wide responsibilities. I shall be only brief now, as the noble Lord who introduced the Motion was brief, but it would be wrong to assume that because there has been much less official opposition to the setting up of this Board than we have seen in Wales, it has received a general welcome locally; because that is not so. It is not just something of concern to local authorities, the National Farmers' Union and those who may receive grants; it is something which will affect a great many people, and many of them are apprehensive about how it will work in practice. It appeared to us, when we debated the provisions of the Agriculture Bill in this House, to be a very elaborate way of doing a number of good things and a number of less good things.
I do not think I am alone in disliking this ever wider spread of Boards which are projections of the central Government, over which local people have no control or say whatever, unlike their 884 county councillors. And here may I say, in passing, that four more such Boards are being set up under the Development of Tourism Bill which we shall be discussing in a few minutes. Think of the patronage which is spreading ever wider across the country! Having said that, I should like particularly to commend the noble Lord on the appointment of the chairman. I think that here we have a man who commands general respect, and we are much more fortunate than in the appointment which has been made in Wales and which has attracted so much criticism.
I am sure it is right to look at these Boards as something coming with great good will on the part of the late Minister of Agriculture, whose brainchild they are; but, none the less, they are very political in their whole framework. It is a pity that this particular Board should have had its boundaries drawn so as to build its area up to 3, 000 sq. miles. This is an enormous area, and it includes a number of corn-growing farms and considerable areas of lowland which in fact bear no relation to hill land at all. An area of that size is bound to throw up a large number of administrative problems. I conclude as I began. I wish it well, I appreciate the difficulties and I think the Government underestimate them. I hope indeed that one or other of the ombudsmen will be responsible for looking after the interests of Her Majesty's subjects in this particular field.

§ Lord BESWICK
My Lords, I am grateful to learn that the noble Lord, who knows this area very well and whose feeling for it I know and appreciate, wishes well to this Board. To some extent I can understand the apprehension that he voiced. This is a far-flung area, far removed from Whitehall, and I can well believe that many people living up there feel that Whitehall is getting a little nearer to them. They may be somewhat apprehensive, but I think their fears are not firmly based. As the noble Lord has said, the local authorities were consulted and they gave positive support, or they expressed no strong view either way. The Farmers' Union, which after all ought not to be ignored in this matter—

Lord INGLEWOOD
My Lords, would the noble Lord allow me to intervene very briefly? I think the local 885 authorities were much moved by the fact that this Board would have a certain amount of finance, which they have not got, and would bring something into then area and undoubtedly do some good.

§ Lord BESWICK
The noble Lord is explaining why they welcome it and give it positive support.

Lord INGLEWOOD
My Lords, that is another side.

§ Lord BESWICK
I am also saying that the National Farmers' Union were in favour of this Board, and whatever the reason—and I think it to be a good reason—the noble Lord should not overlook that. I am glad that the noble Lord commended the appointment of the chairman, but I hope he does not mean by that commendation that he does not approve the appointment of the other members of the Board.

Lord INGLEWOOD
My Lords, I do not know who they are.

§ Lord BESWICK
Without exception they are local people who will have the interests of the local people at heart, and if the Board is to be successful then certainly it will have to take into account the feelings of local people up there. The noble Lord, as is his custom, has voiced his opinion very strongly. When I read it I am sure I shall read much more carefully the fact that he welcomes the institution of this Board and that he wishes i it well. And that, I hope, will be echoed by all others in the House by giving this Motion their unqualified approval.