Countryside and Rights of Way Act (Hansard, 4 July 2002)

HC Deb 04 July 2002 vol 388 cc591-2W 591W

§ Tony Cunningham
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment. Food and Rural Affairs what progress she has made in the management of access and systems to ensure that members of the public are informed of their rights and responsibilities if the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 is implemented on a regional basis. [65736]

§ Alun Michael
Section 20 of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 requires the Countryside Agency to issue codes of conduct for the guidance of walkers and land managers about their rights and obligations on access land.
The agency is also revising the Country Code and consulting widely on its content. The agency plans to relaunch the Code, to contain guidance both to walkers and land managers about access under the Act and more generally, in the summer of 2003.
I am currently considering whether it will be possible to opt for a regional roll-out of the right of access and to manage the implementation of arrangements for informing people of their rights and responsibilities accordingly.

§ Mr. Laurence Robertson
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the workings of the Access to the Countryside legislation, with particular reference to farm land. [66518]

§ Alun Michael
The Countryside Agency is consulting on draft maps of open country and registered common land on a rolling, regional, programme. Following the consultation on each draft map, the agency will then issue a provisional map, and land managers will have an opportunity to appeal to the Secretary of State if they object to the mapping of any land as open country or registered common land.
In addition to mapping, there are practical issues which must be addressed, such as managing access and ensuring that members of the public and land managers are properly informed of their rights and responsibilities. We 592W are working closely with the Countryside Agency and other bodies to ensure that appropriate measures are put in place before the right of access is commenced in any area.