Select Committee on the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006
The countryside at a crossroads: Is the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006 still fit for purpose?
Report of Session 2017-19 - published 22 March 2017 - HL Paper 99
Contents
Conclusions and recommendations
Chapter 1: Introduction and background
The Haskins Review and the 2004 Rural Strategy
Restructuring of organisations
Lawton Review and the Natural Environment White Paper
The Defra Triennial Review, June 2013
The closure of the Commission for Rural Communities
The Environment (Wales) Act 2016
The Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan
Chapter 2: Brexit and the natural environment
The accountability and enforcement capacity of the EU
Environmental monitoring and reporting following Brexit
Chapter 3: The role of Natural England
The funding and independence of Natural England
The role of a non-departmental public body
Moving from a regulatory to a collaborative approach
Input into the development planning process
The discretionary advice service
Capital investment and maintenance of routes
The promotion of public access
The long-term future of Natural England
Chapter 4: The biodiversity duty
Awareness and understanding of the biodiversity duty
The loss of biodiversity professionals, knowledge and resources
The changing context since 2006, and implications for the duty
Box 1: What is Natural Capital?
The difference between rural policy and rural proofing
The Commission for Rural Communities
Closure of the Commission for Rural Communities
Strengths and weaknesses of the CRC
The closure of the Regional Development Agencies and the RCPU
The case for retaining rural policy within Defra
Where should rural policy sit within government?
The challenge of delivering services for rural communities
Box 2: Rural housing and the failure of rural proofing
A role for the Cabinet Office?
Chapter 6: Green lanes and rights of way
The effect of the NERC Act 2006
The use of Traffic Regulation Orders
Appendix 1: List of Members and declarations of interest
Appendix 4: Acronyms and glossary
Appendix 5: Flowchart of previous organisations
Evidence is published online at www.parliament.uk/nerc-act-committee
and available for inspection at the Parliamentary Archives (020 7219 3074).
Q in footnotes refers to a question in oral evidence.