CLA - Working for you
LA lobbies at all levels of Government to defend the property rights of rural landowners and for a thriving rural economy. Our lobbying effort on our members’ behalf is continuous and we have been successful in a number of areas.
CLA puts issue of liability for animals on the agenda
This proved to be a major worry for members, following the interpretation of the Animals Act 1971 by the courts which suggested that owners could be liable for pure accidents even where there was no fault on their part. The CLA drafted a Bill for Parliament specifically to help equine businesses suffering in the face of spiralling insurance costs.
CLA launches food and farming campaign at No 10
In January 2007 the CLA launched a major public awareness campaign with the Prime Minister and a large number of Cabinet Ministers at 10 Downing Street. Our Just Ask campaign encourages the consumer to ask where the food on their plate comes from when they go out for a meal as a means of promoting British food and farming. The CLA is also actively campaigning for clear country of origin labelling on menus in the food service sector.
CLA stops access as of right to rivers and woodlands
As a consequence of CLA building strong links with anglers, we were able to resist calls by canoeists for an unrestricted access to rivers and riverbanks in England and Wales, the so-called ‘right to row’. The Environment Agency subsequently followed a voluntary approach for delivering canoe access and the Government thanked the CLA for its support. The CLA continues to fight any attempt to open access to woodland.
CLA leads campaign against access as of right to coastal areas
The CLA has been at the forefront of opposition to plans to create a blanket right of access to coastal areas in England and Wales. We continue to query the public demand for such a right and argue that local voluntary agreements are the most effective way of going about this. Crucially, we argue that where economic loss arises by granting access that compensation must be made.
CLA fights for Single Farm Payments to be made
In England, the payment of the Single Farm Payment was a disaster. Through regular meetings with the Minister and the Chief Executive of the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) we ensured payments were made. We were also able to get a number of general policy changes made at the RPA, such as the part-payment made on the delayed 2005 payments, a switch to applicant-based processing for 2006, not task-based, and improvements to the communications between RPA and the farmer.
CLA success in gating orders to stop crime and antisocial behaviour
The CLA persuaded the Government to allow so-called ‘gating orders’ whereby access to rights of way could be prevented where it was associated with crime and anti-social behaviour, such as fly-tipping. Following input from the CLA, the regulations that implement the statute do not require that local authorities hold public inquiries for every order, a requirement that would have negated the effect of the legislation as orders would have been too costly to make.
Game Acts review
But for intense lobbying by the CLA, the Government would have considered abolishing the remedies under the Game Acts which provided a remedy to land managers to deal with poaching. As a result of our arguments, the Government is now reviewing the Game Acts in a way which is not detrimental to our members’ interests.
CLA triumph on cross compliance
Intense lobbying from the CLA resulted in the requirement under cross compliance for landowners to keep herd registers for graziers’ cattle to be dropped. This has reduced unnecessary duplication of records and has ensured that non-compliance penalties for failing to keep a herd register fall on the grazier and not the landowner.
CLA victory over charges for used road planings
The Environment Agency’s charging policy for importing used road planings onto farms was withdrawn due to CLA lobbying. Those wishing to import under 100 tonnes of planings are now exempt from having to pay the £546 annual charge.
Cost sharing
CLA has been heavily involved in the negotiations on cost and responsibility sharing for animal health and welfare. We are committed to working with Defra to lower costs by reducing the regulatory burden and to ensure that industry has a say in decision making so benefits can be seen at farm level.
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