§ Lord Clinton-Davisasked Her Majesty's Government:
When they will publish the outcome of the review of common land policy and legislation following the consultation exercise that took place in 2000. [HL5477]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Whitty)We have today published aCommon Land Policy Statement jointly with the National Assembly for Wales. This, together with the Report on Consultation Responses, is available in the Library of the House, on the DEFRA website, and from the National Assembly for Wales.
The policy statement contains a comprehensive package of proposals relating to the registration and protection of common land and village greens. It also outlines our objectives for improving the agricultural management of common land and announces our intention to set up as soon as possible a working party of stakeholders to make recommendations on how these objectives can best be met.
In the Rural White Paper, issued in November 2000, the Government gave a commitment to legislate as soon as parliamentary time allows. We hope to be able to do so in the 2004–05 session.