Member

Clauses 83 and 84 provide Natural England and the Secretary of State with powers to compulsorily purchase land to carry out functions. The noble Lord, Lord Roborough, and the noble Baroness, Lady McIntosh, asked whether the powers are necessary. It is vital that Natural England has the necessary powers in order to deliver the win-win for nature and the economy: to protect the environment at the same time as enabling Britain to get building. While it is necessary to equip Natural England with these powers to ensure that conservation measures can be delivered, they can be used only where attempts to acquire land by negotiation have failed and there is a compelling case in the public interest for use of the compulsory purchase powers. As a further safeguard, the use of these powers will need to be authorised by the Secretary of State. The Government have taken a cautious approach to extending compulsory purchase powers. However, it is clear that they need to be available as a tool of last resort to ensure that there is sufficient certainty that, where necessary and appropriate, land can be acquired and conservation measures delivered.