§ Lord Melchettasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether it is still the case, as stated by the Earl Ferrers in the House on 19th October 1981 (col. 252WA 617) that under the Financial Guidelines for Management Agreements to be issued under Section 50 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981: "the payments offered, whether by way of annual payments of a capital sum, must depend on individual circumstances and be subject to negotiation".
§ The Earl of AvonPayments made in accordance with the guidance must reflect a wide variety of circumstances and, until some experience has been gained, will necessarily be based on individual assessment of the sum or sums payable. Later it may prove possible to devise standard payments for certain types of agreement covering well-defined categories of land and restrictions on farming operation but in no case will the claimant be obliged to accept a standard payment, where this option becomes available.
§ Lord Melchettasked her Majesty's Government:
Whether it is still the case that the Financial Guidelines for Management Agreements to be published under Section 50 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 will be statutory in view of the assurances given by the Minister for Local Government and Environmental Services in Standing Committee D of the House of Commons on 18th June 1981 (col. 951): "… on the matter of financial guidelines … They would of course be statutory".
§ The Earl of AvonThe requirement for such guidance and its application is statutory, deriving from Section 50 of the Act.
When published copies will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
§ Lord Melchettasked her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will confirm that the judgment by Lord Justice Roskill in Laker Airways v Board of Trade (1977), QB 643, to the effect that the meaning of guidance is assistance in reaching a preferred decision but that guidance does not compel any particular decision, applies to the Financial Guidelines for Management Agreements to be issued as guidance under Section 50 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.
§ The Earl of AvonYes; the Financial Guidelines will provide the framework for decisions on financial matters, and restrict the scope for disagreement: but, as always where valuation questions are concerned, there will be room for differences of opinion: it is for this reason that Section 50(3) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 provides for arbitration.
§ Lord Melchettasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they agree that the Wildlife and Countryside Act clearly states that the duty to offer management agreements on the Nature Conservancy Council or other relevant authority arises only after the relevant Minister has refused the payment of agricultural grant on the grounds that the relevant agricultural development has been objected to because it would damage conservation interests, and in these circumstances that it would be 253WA illegal for the Financial Guidelines for Management Agreements to be issued under Section 50 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 to suggest that payments under such agreements should be calculated on the assumption that agricultural grants would have been paid.
§ The Earl of AvonNo. The purpose of these provisions of the Act is to compensate for income forgone by an applicant for farm capital grant, who would otherwise be eligible for grant, but for a refusal solely on conservation grounds in consequence of an objection by the Nature Conservancy Council or relevant authority.