Malvern Hills Bill [HL]

Baroness Twycross Excerpts

2nd reading
Wednesday 4th June 2025 Lords Chamber

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Culture, Media and Sport (Baroness Twycross) (Lab)]

My Lords, I am pleased to have the opportunity to contribute to an important and interesting debate on a much loved and important British institution—or rather, not necessarily an institution, but the hills themselves. I thank my noble friend Lord Faulkner for his explanation of the Bill and its importance to the Malvern Hills Trust. I am also grateful to the trust for preparing a briefing note for Peers on the Bill explaining its aims and key provisions. As my noble friend Lord Faulkner said, the Malvern Hills are a spectacular area rich in wildlife and much loved by local communities and visitors alike. As my noble friend Lord Murphy said, they are a wonderful part of our scenery.

As my noble friend Lord Faulkner outlined, and as was referred to by a number of other noble Lords, the Malvern Hills Trust has been endowed since 1884 with the responsibility of protecting and managing the iconic Malvern Hills—not only an area of outstanding natural beauty but one of only 159 national character areas as well as a site of special scientific interest. I note that the Bill will not alter the trust’s core charitable purpose of protecting, maintaining and conserving the natural aspects of the hills and keeping them unbuilt-on as an open space for public recreation.

The noble Baroness, Lady Bennett of Manor Castle, noted that the intention of the Bill is modernisation. DCMS will always welcome charities working to ensure that their governance follows the best practices of charity law and governance. It is clear from the number of petitions that there is significant local interest in the Malvern Hills Trust and the importance of observing open access to the hills for future generations. I particularly enjoyed the contribution of the noble Lord, Lord Hampton, in the gap. It must be unusual to have your father quoted in a debate from decades ago, and even less usual to be able to quote two close relatives from the same debate.

I also thank the noble Earl, Lord Attlee, and the noble Baroness, Lady Coffey, for the instructions they have tabled. These will ensure that the Bill receives detailed scrutiny as it proceeds to Committee. I thank the noble Earl, Lord Attlee, for asking about the implications of the recent Office for National Statistics decision to classify the Malvern Hills Trust as a public body. As the noble Earl said, the ONS recently announced that it has classified the Malvern Hills Trust as part of the local government sub-sector of the public sector for the purposes of economic statistics. I am grateful to the noble Earl for helpfully drawing this to my attention. It will be for the Malvern Hills Trust itself to consider what, if any, implications this classification decision has for the charity. In response to the point made by the noble Baronesses, Lady Thornhill and Lady Coffey, I can say that it is perfectly possible to be both a charity and a public body.

In answer to the noble Earl’s point about the extent to which the MHT will be subject to the Freedom of Information Act 2000, the ONS classification does not mean that the Malvern Hills Trust is subject to that Act. Separate legislation would be needed to bring the trust within the scope of Freedom of Information Act requests. The noble Baroness, Lady Thornhill, raised the number of complaints and petitions from local residents against the Bill, which was alluded to in a number of speeches, including that by the noble Baroness, Lady Coffey. It is clear that there is significant local interest in the role of the Malvern Hills Trust in preserving the Malvern Hills for the benefit of future generations. This level of public interest is to be welcomed. I note that a large number of petitions have been lodged against the Bill, and I would encourage the trust to work with petitioners to respond to their concerns and find workable solutions.

The noble Baroness, Lady Thornhill, raised the use of the general power in Clause 83, and asked whether it was required. General powers are very common in the charity sector. The Charity Commission’s published model governing documents for charities includes a general power. In relation to the Malvern Hills Trust, the general power could be used only to further the charity’s work in pursuance of its charitable objectives and would not alter anything in the way in which the sale of land and the granting of easements are dealt with.

The noble Baroness, Lady Coffey, asked why the changes proposed were not being made through secondary legislation. Given the nature of some of the charity’s proposals, coupled with the strong public interest locally, DCMS and the Charity Commission agreed that it would be more appropriate for those measures to be delivered through a private Bill. This approach allows greater scope for public and parliamentary scrutiny and debate than would be the case under a Section 73 procedure, whereby such measures are not always debated in Parliament. The noble Baroness also asked which Secretary of State was being referred to. It would be the Secretary of State with policy responsibility, so primarily Defra in most instances, but MHCLG in others.

As noble Lords will know, the Government do not adopt a position on private Bills unless a Bill contains provisions considered to be contrary to public policy. We take the view that this Bill does not contain any such provisions. Therefore, as is the tradition with private Bills, the Government will not be adopting a position on this Bill. I am sure, however, that the trust will want to reflect carefully on the points made by noble Lords in today’s debate as the Bill proceeds to Committee.