§ Mr. Ken HargreavesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he intends to bring forward new common land legislation in pursuance of the recommendations of the Common Land Forum in 1986 and the policy statement made by the Minister for the Environment and Countryside on 26 July 1990; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. BaldryIt remains our policy, as stated by my hon. Friend the Minister for the Environment and Countryside 351W on 26 July 1990, to safeguard the status of common land and to strengthen the ways in which we protect and use it. We recognise that this requires legislation to implement it, and the importance of such legislation. I regret, however, that, given the pressures on the parliamentary timetable, we cannot see any opportunity to legislate comprehensively during the lifetime of this Parliament.
We have also considered very carefully the proposal for a short Bill put to us by amenity bodies. We have concluded that this would not have sufficient advantages to be a priority candidate, in the light of the reservations expressed by other interested parties.