Member

On Amendment 44 in the name of the noble Earl, Lord Russell, we agree that the Forestry Act 1967 has been on the statute book for some time and is in need of review. We cannot support the direction of travel proposed by Amendment 44, though we certainly feel that the Government should look again at this policy area. I am grateful to the Minister for her earlier commitments. With regard to this amendment, we are concerned that imposing multiple duties on arms-length bodies can bring confusion and conflict, as well as greater bureaucratic process, cost and time. The noble Earl highlighted the confusion that is possible under this.