Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage on 5 March (HL Deb col 519GC), what evidence they have that introducing a duty for local authorities to maintain a list of land in their area suitable for community cultivation would be a burden to authorities; and whether they have had any discussions with local authorities about maintaining a list of land in their area suitable for community cultivation.

Section 123 of the Local Government Act 1972 and the Community Asset Transfer (CAT) framework gives principal local authorities the power to dispose of land held by them in any manner they wish. Most local authorities will have and operate their own CAT policy, and as part of that framework they are obliged to publish a list of suitable assets and a process for communities to acquire them should they become available.