Weeds Act 1959 (Hansard, 16 February 1984)

§ Mrs. Fenner

The Weeds Act 1959 empowers the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in England and the Secretary of State for Wales to serve a notice on an occupier of land on which certain specific weeds are growing requiring him to take action to prevent the weeds from spreading. These weeds are spear thistle, creeping thistle, curled dock, broad-leaved dock and common ragwort. The Act also enables officials to carry out inspections of land and to instigate prosecution where an enforcement notice has not been complied with.

The Weeds Act 1959 is a consolidation measure which derives from earlier legislation concerned with commercial food production. In view of this background, it has long been the policy of the agriculture departments to contemplate action under the Act only when it is clear that there is a real threat to agricultural land or agricultural production. It has also been our policy, where there is a threat to agriculture, always to seek first a remedy through advice and persuasion. It has therefore only rarely been necessary to resort to statutory action under the Act.

In the light of the advances that have been made in agricultural technology, including development of chemical herbicides and modern grazing techniques, we have considered whether there is still a need for this legislation. After consultation with interested organisations on the desrability of repealing the Act, my colleagues and I have been persuaded that it still has a useful function in specific areas such as the control of roadside weeds. Nevertheless although the Weeds Act 1959 will remain on the statute book it is not appropriate to use it to control weeds in domestic gardens. The policy I have described earlier has proved effective in dealing with those cases where the existence of specified weeds poses a genuine threat to agriculture, and this will continue to be our policy in the future.

I understand my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland, who has similar powers, shares this view and his officials will be adopting a similar approach.