Member

Amendment 14, also tabled by the noble Baroness, Lady Vere, would prevent the Crown Estate from selling assets of a value totalling £10 million or more in a single year. It would also require the Treasury to approve of the disposal of any assets above the threshold, and for the Secretary of State to lay a report before Parliament within 28 days of being notified of such disposals by the commissioners. The provisions in this Bill are not intended to change fundamentally the nature of the Crown Estate’s business, and it will continue to maintain an estate in land and enhance the returns obtained from it. It is the Government’s view that imposing a statutory limit on disposals in this way would undermine the flexibility required by the Crown Estate to ensure that it can operate commercially and fulfil its core duties under the future Act. As sometimes it may make commercial sense to dispose of a high-value asset for the benefit of the wider estate, putting such a limit in statute is likely to constrain the Crown Estate’s ability to take a long-term view of its strategy and the overall business. I am very grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Lansley, for his support on this point.