§ Mr. Fauldsasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his policy towards the report "Landscape—the Need for a Public Voice", published by the Council for the Protection of Rural England, which suggested tax reliefs, compensation and education to encourage farmers to conserve traditional features, such as hedges, walls, open heath and grass downland and which also suggests that power should be given to local authorities to enforce retention of ecologically historically or scenically important landscape features.
§ Mr. Denis HowellI am having it studied and have read the report with276W interest, but it would be premature for me to comment on it at this stage. It is a response to the Countryside Commission's discussion paper "New Agricultural Landscapes" on which the commission is now consulting widely and on which it will be making firm proposals in due course.