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If we want tranquillity we have to control the transport. It is certainly possible, as I know, to control the noise on railways and I believe that it should be done, but at least railways do not have the disadvantages of all the things that are on the edges of roads—you do not have a McDonalds every few yards or a Little Chef or a garage or whatever. Some railways, such as the Settle to Carlisle line—the noble Lord, Lord Bragg, may or may not agree with me—add to the environment rather than detract from it.
I am looking to hear from the Minister about not necessarily generous funding but a steady stream of funding looking to the future. I would particularly like him to say something about supporting the rural community councils. Those are small bodies in the counties that look after things such as rural housing and the generation of businesses in localities. They also give advice on opening rural shops and so on. They do a great deal of work to support the community, but they are thinly funded. They are not well paid and they are not overstaffed. I would like the Minister to say something positive about the
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Viscount Bridgeman: My Lords, the noble Lord understates the massive leadership he gave during the passage of the NERC Bill to secure the control of mechanical vehicles on rights of way.
4.20 pm
Lord Taylor of Holbeach: My Lords, I join other noble Lords in congratulating my noble friend Lord Renton of Mount Harry on securing this debate today. Although noble Lords have said that much of it comes down to money, at least we can go away to our Recess having had the opportunity of talking, even waxing poetic, about something which is part of our national heritage and of value to us all.
When parliamentarians speak about security or safeguarding the nation, it generally has something to do with military or foreign policy—protecting British borders and a British way of life—but all too often it seems that we forget the British landscape, our countryside, which is as wrapped up with the British way of life as the rights we have defended and the culture we have inherited. It is truly a,
What can be more important in the recognition of our country’s identity than the demarcation and preservation of areas of outstanding natural beauty? One does not have to be a Romantic poet to recognise that our landscape in so many ways defines that which we see as the core of our national identity: the land, the territory, the countryside itself. It is thus absolutely essential that these areas that embody the most beautiful aspects of our landscape are properly managed and protected. As my noble friend Lord Renton and other noble Lords have said, they exist for all of us whether we are a city dweller, a townsman or a countryman.
Before delving into some of the specific questions, it is useful for us to understand the broader context of the environmental importance of areas of outstanding natural beauty. My noble friend Lord Selborne showed how important this can be for future strategy. According to the National Association for Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the definition of such areas is,
- “a precious landscape whose distinctive character and natural beauty are so outstanding that it is in the nation’s interest to safeguard them”.
However, natural beauty is not a straightforward concept. It does not mean wild or primeval, as the Countryside
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Much of the success of AONBs has been the way in which they have worked with farmers, landowners and others working and occupying the land to maintain the dynamic of a living and working landscape. AONBs are not museums. They have maintained a pragmatic relationship and have sought to work through consultation and advice rather than prescription. In this respect they are widely seen as having a better relationship with those who live and work in them than the national parks.
The history of this island’s inhabitants is inextricably linked to our landscape. There is not much nature in the UK that is not the result of hundreds of years of human modification and influence. Any country’s landscapes are dynamic. They are changing and being changed. From Hesiod to Hardy we see examples of the way farming, forestry, settlements and local communities have had profound and beneficial impacts on the beauty of the countryside. Yet not all change is welcome. The threat of global warming and the more immediate dangers of poor upkeep threaten these areas of outstanding natural beauty. If what is special about them is to be preserved, the greatest care must be devoted to sustaining them.
My noble friend Lord Renton has shown how important these areas are to our national environment. There are currently 36 designated areas of outstanding natural beauty that cover about 15 per cent of England. Under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949, recreation is, unlike in the national parks, as the noble Lord, Lord Marlesford, said, not a statutory objective, although it is encouraged in so far as it is compatible with the primary aim of designations: conservation. The noble Lord, Lord Bragg, showed how important the balance is between conservation and access in the life of the Lake District National Park.
The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 brought in new measures to help protect AONBs further. Local authorities were given greater responsibilities for the management of those areas; thus there are frameworks for their protection. However, they were set up almost a decade ago. Considering that legislation to protect those areas was last passed in 2000, what plans does the Minister have to legislate in the near future?
My noble friend Lord Selborne reminded us of my noble friend Lord Renton’s role in the CROW Act, which enables the creation of conservation boards for individual areas where there is local support. The boards take over the management plan and other aspects of managing the area. Natural England and local authorities must be consulted in their creation and people with appropriate skills and knowledge are to be appointed to the board. Can the Minister tell us about the success of those boards in preserving AONBs? Has there been any review of their success? Does he consider the scheme a success in general?
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As my noble friend Lord Bridgeman, among many others, told the House, uncertainty of funding can create great difficulties. Funding is a key issue when it comes to preserving our environment, and not one that I expect that the Government will be very keen to talk about. Frankly, what has happened has been disgraceful. Let us consider the plight of Natural England. In 2004, following a review of rural delivery carried out by the noble Lord, Lord Haskins, Defra published its rural strategy. As part of that strategy, a new body was created called Natural England, formed by the merger of the Countryside Agency, English Nature and the Rural Development Service.
Natural England was formally established on 1 October 2006. Just after it was established, Defra Ministers were forced to cut budgets to the tune of more than £200 million in 2006 and a further £270 million in 2007. Further cuts mean that Natural England has been asked to cut its budget by £12.5 million for 2008-09. That could have disastrous effects on the preservation of our natural landscape. What will be the impact on areas of outstanding natural beauty? Is the Minister not concerned that the Government are jeopardising their alleged commitment to promote biodiversity and conservation? Can he assure us that the Defra cuts will not have a negative impact on the grants issued by Natural England that currently support those areas across the country?
What has happened is a cause for distress. As soon as the Government gave Natural England the breath of life, they tried try to choke the funds out of it. Indeed, the director of conservation at the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds put it just that way, saying:
That seems an entirely fair assessment of what has happened to Natural England. What about the future, as my noble friend Lord Plumb asked? Given the consistency of those budget cuts, can we expect the shrinking of Natural England's budget to continue? Considering the growing importance of conservation and drives to include further protected areas, is the Minister prepared to give up on the development of a serious conservation agenda?
The most disheartening thing about the budget problems that are currently plaguing Defra is that they were avoidable. I have no wish to rehearse the usual litany; the department’s mistakes have been acknowledged by the Minister many times. However, Defra’s crisis is real. Mismanagement, particularly of the Rural Payments Agency and the subsequent fines imposed, is putting the environment at risk. It is unfair that many excellent schemes have been, or are at risk of being, cancelled simply because of the deficiencies within the Government. These self-inflicted wounds have been made worse by the fact that the Government as a whole, despite all the extra stealth taxes they have raised, appear to be running out of money, and the Treasury is looking for further cuts. Do Defra and its budget continue to be at risk?
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To protect the future needs a more holistic approach. I see the future funding of AONBs not as a party political matter. We must seek to incorporate a range of bodies at local, regional and central government levels. There also need to be further efforts to encourage private organisations and individuals. Do the Government have any specific schemes to do that?
The issue of individual involvement is pertinent, and one that the Government have evidently not considered carefully enough. They need to consider it further. While we have been talking about the importance of the ways in which people can impact the environment, I want to close with the corollary that is too often ignored; that is, how much the environment can impact on individuals and their lives. There is a substantial cultural dimension to the natural world that we inhabit; indeed, part of the process of civilisation is a constant attempt to make sense of our environment, to understand it scientifically, to depict it beautifully and even just to contemplate our place in it. To preserve the natural beauty of this country is to preserve its culture.
As the right reverend Prelate might have said, the psalmist long ago commanded us to lift up our eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh our help, but I am reminded more of Wordsworth, who was the first to open our eyes to the world around us. I will not quote “The Daffodils” as a way of declaring my interest in today’s debate, but I will quote from a lesser known poem, “Michael”:
And hence this Tale, while I was yet a boyCareless of books, yet having felt the powerOf Nature, by the gentle agencyOf natural objects led me on to feelFor passions that were not my own, and thinkAt random and imperfectly indeedOn man; the heart of man and human life.All of us, in the humanity we have in common with those past and yet to come, are capable of similar revelations. That is why we are right to seek to protect our most outstanding landscapes as a daily reminder of our place in the natural world, and indeed in creation.
4.33 pm
The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Rooker): My Lords, this has been an excellent debate, and I congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Renton, on securing it and on his choice of subject. A lot of questions have been asked and points made, and I shall do my best to respond to as many as possible. I will seek to write regarding those that I miss out. As I go through, I have counted about five declarations of interest that I will have to make in responding to various issues.
I want to put a couple of facts on the record. Natural England’s settlement for 2008-09 is £176 million. No one mentioned that. Up or down, it does not matter; that is the figure. It is flat cash compared with last year, with a £5 million efficiency saving that was built in. I understand that that came about as part of the efficiency savings that would be expected from the merging of three separate organisations. There was some long-term planning, which others in the House will be more familiar with than I am because I was not at Defra at the time the legislation went through. At present Natural England is on
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One thing that I can say, and it might answer a couple of questions asked by noble Lords, is that they are considering three-year settlements for areas of outstanding natural beauty in order to provide more stability and certainty. That is important. The delivery of Defra’s policies is undoubtedly devolved to Natural England. We cannot micro-manage them from Whitehall. That would be completely wrong. The man and woman in Whitehall do not know best; there is no doubt about that.
Natural England is spread over the country to take the decisions appropriate to the particular areas, even the areas that are run by the conservation boards. There are only two conservation boards, for the Chilterns and the Cotswolds. It is up to the constituent parts of the areas of outstanding natural beauty to decide whether they want a conservation board. It is not for Defra to impose them.
I have to get another point out of the way before I am accused of missing it out. I cannot say anything whatever about the proposed South Downs national park. I have all the fancy words here in bold: “quasi-judicial”; “prejudice the Secretary of State’s decision”; “essential that Minister’s officials to do not engage in public discussion on the issue”. But I can say this—and then I can get it off my chest. I remember the announcement, in 1998 or 1999, of two new national parks. I think it is appalling. It is not a credit to democracy that, in 2008, we still do not have one of those. It is not a credit to say, “It takes a long time”. I regret the lapse in standards of administration and democracy and the fact that no decisions have been made. But a second inquiry is still under way and I cannot say anything about the detail.
Lord Renton of Mount Harry: My Lords, I totally understand what the Minister has just said. I, for one, was certainly not expecting any statement today on the national park. However, I am very glad to hear the rider that he added, that it is absolutely extraordinary that the first preliminary decision to turn the South Downs into a national park was taken in 1999. It is amazing that, eight years later, that has not been finalised. I would only like to put on record that it makes life difficult for the loyal staff who work for us on the South Downs Joint Committee.
Lord Rooker: My Lords, it also blights the economy and investment plans for the future. It blights all kinds of plans for the area. It blights the quality of life for
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I will not go over Defra’s budgets; they are well known. I make my own modest contribution. Yesterday, in going to address a major international conference on the CAP, I used a London number 24 bus. I did not charge Defra for the journey because I used my bus pass. We are making contributions. I banned Christmas cards from Defra Ministers when I arrived there and they are now done electronically. Those are not tokens. We simply had a look at what we were doing, bearing in mind that we had to make cuts to our agencies and difficult decisions had to be made. However, the decisions on the budgets for the areas of outstanding beauty will be made as soon as possible.
A well-rehearsed speech has been drafted for me on the assumption that certain points would be made but I think it would be better if I tried to pick up some of the points that speakers made and then go back to my notes if needed. The noble Lord, Lord Renton, was right to say that he had been asked to raise a little noise on behalf of the areas of outstanding natural beauty, and I think that he has done that. I can assure him that the message has been heard loud and clear in the department.
The noble Lord specifically raised one point. As the common agricultural policy changes, Pillar 1 direct payments will go, sometime between 2015 and 2020. The key will be to get as much of the money as possible into Pillar 2 for rural development and the wider rural economy. Of course, there are those who will say that we should cut the size of the CAP budget anyway and put it back into the central kitty. The UK Government’s central objective is to transfer that money to Pillar 2 for rural development programmes. We want to make sure that it is done in such a way that we do not suffer. The UK suffers in this, as those experts here will know, because of our rural development programmes in the past. There is a possibility there. Much of the £3 billion expenditure over seven years that we have announced—I cannot put a figure on the precise amount—is essentially for rural development. Therefore, it will touch on areas of outstanding natural beauty.
I always go back to page 44 of the Communities Plan, published in 2003 by John Prescott, which set out the land mass of England. Seven per cent of it is covered by the national parks, to which the noble Lord, Lord Bragg, referred. Thirteen per cent of it is green belt. Sixteen per cent of it comprises areas of outstanding natural beauty. All those plots of land are separate. The national parks are separate from the areas of outstanding natural beauty; they are both separate from the green belt. Added together, they cover 36 per cent of England. It is reckoned that urban England covers 12 per cent. That gives us about 48 per cent of England. It leaves 52 per cent for everything else. It is argued that there is not enough
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The Lake District would qualify in anyone’s definition as an area of outstanding natural beauty. I shall not go into the administrative differences, which I am sure the noble Lord, Lord Bragg, fully understands. I declare an interest as having had for more than 20 years a one-week timeshare in the Lake District. I use it every year and get up there as often as possible, even on Defra business—I shall be there during the Recess, visiting farms in Cumbria. I met the hunt trailers last year. I know that the noble Lord is one of their presidents. I had seen hunt-trailing last summer but did not know what it was. It was only when I met the hunt trailers just before Christmas to discuss the difficulties they were having because of the foot-and-mouth restrictions that I realised what I had been watching at one of the shows that I had gone to.
We are in the process of reforming the hill farm allowance. I fully accept that hill farmers, particularly sheep farmers, have been more damaged by foot and mouth than probably any other sector of farmers. I hope that when the hill farm allowance is remodified, most if not all the money can be kept in those areas. Hill farmers look after the landscape. The first people to complain if it goes to wilderness will be the 16 million visitors to the Lake District from the cities. They will say, “Well, we’ve lost it all. It’s all gone to scrub. Why’s that?”. The response will be: “Well, we’ve lost the farmers. We didn’t look after them. You didn’t use the sheep and we decided not to subsidise them any more. We forgot that, if we want to manage that landscape, it will cost a fortune if it is not done by farmers living there”. Therefore, that is an issue, and I fully take on board what the noble Lord said.
The noble Lord, Lord Plumb, said that he would not be present. We had a very pleasant day. It was a Friday, not a Saturday. I well remember it: it was about three years ago. I also went, as the noble Lord said, to the annual meeting of the conservation board just a year ago. We got the message there about there being no budget yet and the damage that it has caused. I agree that a board of 40 members seems quite preposterous. Fifteen are sent by the Secretary of State; 17 are sent by the local authorities; then there is a string of others. You cannot have effective management that way. That is where there is a problem. Each local authority wants its champion but there are difficulties in managing with such large boards.
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