The Earl of Munsterasked Her Majesty's Government:
What progress has been made towards legislation to safeguard common land, on the basis of the Common Land Forum.
§ Baroness BlatchIt remains our policy, as stated by my noble friend the then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Lord Strathclyde) on 26th 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 policy 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.