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<p> </p><p>Further to the Allotments Act 1925, applications for consent to dispose
of allotment land are submitted to the Department by local councils (parish councils
and principal authorities). The table below shows the breakdown of applications since
May 2010.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td> </td><td><p><em>Granted</em></p></td><td><p><em>Withdrawn</em></p></td><td><p><em>Refused</em></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>May
2010- March 2011</p></td><td><p>18</p></td><td><p>6</p></td><td><p>0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011-12</p></td><td><p>17</p></td><td><p>5</p></td><td><p>0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012-13</p></td><td><p>15</p></td><td><p>2</p></td><td><p>1</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013-14</p></td><td><p>17</p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p>4</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014-15
to date</p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p>0</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>To
place this in context, the Secretary of State granted 34 allotment disposals in 2007,
granted 22 in 2008 and granted 18 in 2009, whilst only 2 were declined, which is a
greater rate than under this Administration.</p><p>I observe that the rt. hon. Member
has been quoted in the media attacking such consents. He would have been wiser however
to have undertaken a closer examination of the 68 individual consents granted to the
local councils since May 2010.</p><p>The table below provides some context to help
explain why there was a reasonable case by the representative local bodies for changing
the statutory status of the land.</p><p>In January 2014, my Department published <em>Allotment
Disposal Guidance: Safeguards and Alternatives</em> replacing the previous guidance
from 2002. The new guidance strengthens allotment protection, as the requirement for
waiting lists to be taken into account must now be rigorously applied to all that
council's waiting lists, not just the waiting list for the site to be disposed of.
This aims to ensure that poorly maintained sites are not used to justify disposal.
Ministers will be closely monitoring to ensure that this new guidance is followed.</p><p>Notwithstanding,
I have taken the opportunity to analyse these previous cases in the table below. The
National Allotment Society was consulted in every case, and nine out of ten decisions
were consistent with advice from the National Allotment Society (where advice was
given); the remaining cases where the advice diverged related to land not actually
in use as allotments, requiring a judgement call on whether it was realistic to bring
the land back into productive use.</p><p>Having analysed these approvals, I can note
that half of the land disposed was not actually in use as allotments. Moreover, in
every case where existing allotment plot holders were displaced, evidence from local
authorities indicates that alternative plots were made available to them.</p><p>More
new plots were proposed to be created and/or vacant sites proposed to be brought back
into use than the number of proposed disposals of in-use allotment plots. Consequently,
the statutory disposal process overseen by the Secretary of State since May 2010 should
have resulted in an <strong>increase</strong> in allotment provision not a reduction.
This reflects this Government's commitment both to supporting local communities grow
their own food and to protecting important community assets.</p><p> </p><p> </p>
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