Allotments (Hansard, 22 April 1998)

§ Baroness Sharples
asked Her Majesty's Government:
What encouragement they are giving to allotment holders.

§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (Baroness Hayman)
My Lords, the Government recognise the importance of allotment gardening for food provision, recreation and the sustainable regeneration of towns and cities. Local authorities in England and Wales have a duty to provide allotments where there is a demand for them. There are currently more vacant allotment plots in England than there are people on waiting lists. Local authorities are not able to dispose of statutory allotment sites without providing alternative sites or demonstrating that there is genuinely no local demand.

Baroness Sharpies
My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness for that reply, especially the last part. However, is she aware that, since the general election, over 46 community allotments have been closed, reverting to councils or other owners? Is that really encouragement? I understand that the decision was taken at Civil Service, not ministerial, level. Is it fair to those who very much enjoy allotments and produce a great deal of food for themselves and their families, and especially young people who produce organic food?

§ Baroness Hayman
My Lords, I understand the concern expressed that Section 8 agreement has been given to the disposal of allotment land. However, I can reassure the noble Baroness that it is done on a careful case-by-case basis. In some of the areas concerned, no objections at all have been raised to the disposals. The alternative use to which the land has been put is, as it were, equally green. I refer, for instance, to millennium projects for open spaces. Local authorities are under a duty to provide allotments; they are not under the same duty in relation to other recreational pursuits when there is a local demand for them.

§ Baroness Nicol
My Lords, is my noble friend aware of the value of allotments to people who have to live in modern houses with no access to the open air, still less a garden? Her honourable friend Angela Eagle recently stated to a Select Committee that local authorities would be required to provide proof that allotments were not wanted before selling them off. Can my noble friend say what that proof consists of? Is there any way in which she can make sure that local authorities advertise fully 1152 the existence of vacant allotments? It has been explained to me that on many occasions they are disposed of without the local population knowing about it.

§ Baroness Hayman
Yes, my Lords, the Government are aware of the value of allotments to the whole community, as well as to the individuals who use them. We feel that local government might well examine the role that it plays in promoting sustainability in its plans under Local Agenda 21. I am aware of the concerns expressed by my noble friend. That is why my honourable friend Angela Eagle announced to the Environment Select Committee in another place that we are examining ways of allaying the fear that has been expressed that, in the past, local authorities have been less than enthusiastic in promoting allotments locally. In future, we shall be requiring sufficient information from councils so as to form a clear opinion as to whether there is a demand for allotments in their area. I do not think that we can be prescriptive about exactly what form that will take. However, a mere statement that there are not numbers on the waiting list will not be sufficient.

§ Lord Beaumont of Whitley
My Lords, is the Minister aware that in addition to assets in the form of valuable wildlife habitats, open spaces, leisure facilities and community development listed by the evidence of the Local Government Association to the committee in another place, there is an important point about food security? In an increasingly unstable world, although there may be no danger of major wars in Europe, we should not lose the opportunity to produce as much of our own food as possible for ourselves.

§ Baroness Hayman
My Lords, I said in earlier answers that the Government recognise that both the method of food production on allotments and the activity itself can be of great value. However, it is essentially an issue where local councils are in the best position to determine local needs. I go back to the original statement of the position. There are many more vacant allotments at the moment than people asking for them.

§ Lord Geddes
My Lords, in reply to my noble friend Lady Sharpies, the Minister referred to the obligation of local authorities to provide alternative sites. Are there restrictions on the distance of those alternative sites from existing sites? Does the Minister agree with me that in theory anyway alternative sites could be provided such an inordinate distance away that they would effectively not be alternative sites at all?

§ Baroness Hayman
My Lords, there is an amount of case law on the subject because there has been a challenge as to exactly what is an alternative site. It takes into account a variety of factors. However, because there is a duty to provide alternative sites, for that duty to be enforceable there must be a degree of flexibility as one cannot provide exactly what has been changed.

§ Lord Avebury
My Lords, the noble Baroness referred twice to vacant plots which have not been taken up in certain areas. Will she suggest to the local 1153 authorities concerned that if they advertise the availability of those plots in local unemployment benefit offices and local employment offices, they might be taken up by people who would derive the greatest economic benefit from them?

§ Baroness Hayman
My Lords, that is an interesting suggestion. I shall certainly pass it on to my colleagues.

§ Baroness Byford
My Lords, does the Minister agree that not only older people but also younger people are nowadays seeking plots? The enactment to which the Minister referred, under which the Secretary of State seeks guidance, is the Allotments Act 1925. Does the Minister consider that it might be wise, given the increased pressure for housing on brownfield sites, to have a review and set stricter guidelines for local authorities? I accept that allotments are not brownfield sites but greenfield sites. However, should not local authorities be deterred from using them for unsuitable purposes?

§ Baroness Hayman
My Lords, I am tempted to say that I shall not promise another review unless the Opposition Front Bench promises not to complain if we have one. It is important to recognise that allotments serve local needs. Therefore, local authorities are best placed to take a view about the competing demands for resources for other recreational activities and local services. The cost of allotment provision must be weighed against other priorities at a local level such as the part that local allotments can play, for example, in Local Agenda 21. It is important that we leave that kind of decision-making at local level where matters can best be assessed.

Baroness Sharpies
My Lords, perhaps I may press the Minister. Are decisions taken at Civil Service level or at ministerial level?

§ Baroness Hayman
My Lords, I think the constitutional position is that Ministers are responsible for the decisions that are taken within their departments.

§ Lord Mackie of Benshie
My Lords, is it possible that many more allotments would be taken up if people realised the difference between the cost of production as paid to the farmer and the cost in the shops?

§ Baroness Hayman
My Lords, well educated consumers are in a position to draw their own conclusions about their purchasing and production policies.