Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the provisions in her Department's guidance for the appointment of Parish Councillors to National Park Authorities which exclude co-opted councillors are mandatory and enforceable by the National Park Authority.

National Park Authorities do not appoint members to their boards. Parish members are appointed by the Secretary of State for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs following an election among the eligible parishes. It is our policy that only democratically elected Parish Councillors are eligible. This is to ensure that those seats on the board provide the vital democratic legitimacy and accountability that Parish and Local Authority members bring to National Park Authority boards.