Member

I ask the Minister, first, why these regulations were timed to cause maximum difficulties. Secondly, why was the change to the wildfire licensing ground from risk to impact not consulted on? While the SLSC accepts that there was no legal duty to do this in response to consultation feedback, it states that the absence of a legal duty should not be a blanket approach. Given the contested nature of this debate, it would have been appropriate to contact land managers and their representative organisations in advance of the announcement. I think this is just another example of the Government’s dismissive attitude towards landowners and farmers.