| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Mr. Charles Kennedy: I do not wish to overintrude in another hon. Member's debate, but on the interesting new development that the Minister is describing, I should like to know whether decisions made under the final brick in the wall approach will be full-board ones at Highlands and Islands Enterprise level, with Highlands and Islands Enterprise acting as ultimate arbiter, or whether the Minister will make the final decision? How will the decision-making work?
Mr. Wilson: As I said, I am initiating today the fund's detailed arrangements and foresee no practical difficulties in the decision-making process. The community land unit is firmly within Highlands and Islands Enterprise, which is answerable to me and to the Secretary of State for Scotland. Highlands and Islands Enterprise has great autonomy within certain spending limits and I do not expect money allocated under the programme to exceed those limits. Equally, however, in cases in which there is sensitivity or public interest, I should expect that there will be consultation on recommendations of the community land unit, as routinely happens between Highlands and Islands Enterprise and me.
As I said, there will be no blank cheques, and the fund will be used only on the basis of a fair price. It will not meet exorbitant price demands by owners. I hope that my hon. Friend the Member for Inverness, East, Nairn and Lochaber will agree that that measure represents another valuable step forward. However, I should also like to make absolutely clear that all such measures should be regarded as complementary to the far more fundamental work of the land reform working group under Lord Sewel.
I should like now to mention the possible use of compulsory purchase powers by Highlands and Islands Enterprise to acquire land where there is evidence that its current ownership presents a barrier to economic development or frustrates the well-being of communities. As everyone involved in the debate will realise, in such circumstances there are considerable doubts about whether Highlands and Islands Enterprise's current compulsory purchase powers would enable acquisition of extensive areas of land for the local community--which has been the problem for the past 35 years since the legislation creating the Highlands and Islands development board bestowed rather less radical acquisition powers than had been popularly supposed.
Consequently, there must be some uncertainty about whether use of a compulsory purchase order would be possible in the case of the Knoydart estate, even if such a step otherwise commended itself. Moreover, as with the compulsory purchase powers of Highland council, use of CPOs in individual cases must, in the first instance, be a matter for the organisation concerned. Regardless, use of CPO powers in that context would involve a major policy change.
Although I am not unsympathetic to such a policy change--I do not imagine that anyone would expect me to be--the matter is being considered by Lord Sewel's group as part of a wider land reform package. The Government's view is that it will be necessary to consider a range of measures rather than use compulsory purchase powers in isolation.
Even when the use of CPOs is intra vires, exercise of such powers can take many months, particularly if contested. l think that we would have to conclude that there must be doubts about whether CPOs present an immediate answer to the problems of Knoydart. I should say that, in certain circumstances, Scottish Natural Heritage's powers also include the compulsory purchase of land.
As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport may know better than anyone else in the Chamber, Knoydart is one of the wildest and most beautiful areas in Scotland. It is also one of the best remaining examples of wild land in both the British Isles and Europe. For those reasons, it has been designated a national scenic area. Scottish Natural Heritage is charged with protecting the natural heritage of Scotland. If the natural heritage value of Knoydart were to become threatened, I have no doubt that SNH would have to consider taking appropriate action.
I again pay tribute to the commitment of my hon. Friend the Member for Inverness, East, Nairn and Lochaber in securing a sustainable and productive future for the Knoydart estate that takes account of the interests and aspirations of the local community. I am grateful for the thoughtful and helpful way in which he has raised these matters today and for the supportive comments of the hon. Member for Ross, Skye and Inverness, West (Mr. Kennedy).
I take this opportunity to restate the Government's commitment to the principle of supporting communities that are committed to securing their future by taking responsibility for local land. A key factor in delivering on our commitment is the strategic priority that we have asked Highlands and Islands Enterprise to attach to assisting initiatives that aim to bring development opportunities. Its community land unit and the new land purchase fund that will now back it up are important instruments of that policy.
Although it is for Highlands and Islands Enterprise in the first instance to consider the precise supports that might be available in individual cases, I am happy to assure my hon. Friend that both we and HIE will continue to look closely at the prospects for assisting the Knoydart community and other similar cases.
Question put and agreed to.
5 Jun 1998 : Column 689Adjourned accordingly at five minutes to Three o'clock.
| Index | Home Page |