Allotments

Baroness Hanham Excerpts

Monday 18th October 2010 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Sharples]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to increase the number of allotments.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Communities and Local Government (Baroness Hanham)]

My Lords, the provision of allotments is the responsibility of local authorities. Allotment legislation places a duty on local authorities, except in inner London, to provide sufficient allotments where they consider that there is a demand for them in their area. The Government are supportive of innovative approaches to making land available for community use, including food growing and community land-banking. Meanwhile, licences and leases are being developed by the Federation of City Farms and Community Gardens and the Development Trusts Association. All these could be ways in which communities gain more access to land for allotments.

[Baroness Sharples]

I thank my noble friend for that reply. Is she aware that the National Trust has established allotments at several of its properties? Why cannot other organisations do the same? With the new planning regulations, should not more encouragement be given to garden owners to plant their own vegetables?

[Baroness Hanham]

My Lords, the National Trust is indeed doing an extremely good job in providing access to part of its land for allotments. I think that we would all be glad about that. I am not quite sure how many other landowners or landholders might be happy to do this, but I am sure that the example that has been set by the National Trust will be followed. There is plenty of enthusiasm and encouragement for people to start growing vegetables in their own gardens. There is also encouragement for people to be community gardeners and growers, and there are vegetable plots all over the country.

[Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall]

My Lords, is the Minister aware of the very important work currently being done by the Royal Horticultural Society in using gardening as a way of developing skills in schools, and that some of this work is connected to the use of community land? Would it not be a very great shame if the kind of limited but important funding available for schools to contribute to this work was in any sense compromised by the forthcoming spending cuts?

[Baroness Hanham]

My Lords, I draw the noble Baroness’s attention to what I said originally. The support for initiatives such as this comes from local government, which will make its own decisions about it. The sort of initiatives to which she refers are extremely valuable; they build into future generations a love of the land, the love of gardening and an appreciation of where our food comes from. Quite a lot of children just think that it comes out of the shop.

[Lord Tope]

Is the Minister aware that allotment associations are currently ineligible to apply for funding from landfill tax credits on the grounds that allotment sites are not technically open to the general public? Does she agree that access to such funding could enable allotment associations to bring a lot more unusable plots back into use? If she does agree, what will she do about it?

[Baroness Hanham]

My Lords, I agree with the noble Lord that anything that encourages people to have allotments and take up gardening is to be welcomed. I am not aware of the funding of which he speaks and will make inquiries and respond to him in due course.

[Lord McKenzie of Luton]

The Minister will be aware that legislation gives a local authority the right to terminate a tenancy when it discovers that a tenant lives more than one mile outside of the area for which the allotments are provided. In assessing the impact of this and, generally, on supply and demand for allotments, what regard has been given to the effect of the proposed draconian cuts in housing benefit, which will force many poor people out of their current homes and away from their existing communities?

[Baroness Hanham]

My Lords, this Question is about allotments, not housing benefit. I shall resist the temptation of being drawn into the whole question of housing benefit and simply say that the rules governing allotments are in the hands of local government, which presumably pays attention to them when considering these matters.

[Baroness Gardner of Parkes]

My Lords, is the Minister aware that schools in inner London, and particularly in Battersea, where I went to see a very underprivileged school last week, have developed the equivalent of allotment gardens? That has proved immensely beneficial to underprivileged children, who before had no inspiration at all and now have not only learnt to produce food but think that they would like to become chefs.

[Baroness Hanham]

My Lords, I am very well aware of what the noble Baroness refers to. I refer also to what happens within my own local authority, which has developed raised gardens on land such as old tennis courts to be used for community gardens that will also be available for children.

[Lord Grenfell]

Will the Minister give me an assurance that those who are digging for victory in their allotments are free to plant genetically modified crops without fear of them being ripped out at dead of night or even by the light of day?

[Baroness Hanham]

My Lords, I cannot account for who might rip them out, but I doubt that it would be the local authority. I am sure that the association governing allotments will have its own regulations on GM food—and, if necessary, not having made them before, will make them now.

[Lord Naseby]

Has my noble friend noticed that a number of local authorities have already responded to the need for extra allotments, certainly in central Bedfordshire? Now is the time to plant Aquadulce broad beans; it is an urgent requirement for a good broad bean crop, so will she continue to give encouragement to the local authorities to produce more allotments?

[Baroness Hanham]

I do not think that there is any need to encourage local authorities to continue to support allotments, as it is part of their statutory obligations to do so. Sometimes people will want to grow beans, but they might want to grow peas and a great many will want to grow tomatoes.