Member

Amendment 20, tabled by the noble Lord, Lord Cameron of Dillington, would place the criteria for rural designation directly into the Bill, using the existing population density and settlement size thresholds. While, as he says, it reflects long-standing established criteria, placing these thresholds in legislation could risk the criteria becoming outdated—I am afraid he guessed my words here—and reduce the Government’s ability to ensure that rural protections remain effective and appropriately targeted. Retaining the criteria in regulations ensures that they can be updated where necessary, while still being subject to parliamentary scrutiny through the negative procedure. For those reasons, the Government cannot accept these amendments.