Hunting Act "a notorious example of bad goverment"

1. Hunting Act "a notorious example of bad Government"

This week, the Better Government Initiative's report Good Government: Reforming Parliament and the Executive, was published.

The report, which has been written by, and signed up to by, some of the most senior former civil servants in the country, brands the Hunting Act a "notorious example of bad Government" along with other disastrous examples from the last 20 years including the Poll Tax, the Child Support Agency and the Millennium Dome.

The Better Government Initiative includes the former Cabinet secretary Lord Butler and Sir John Chilcott who is chairing the Iraq war inquiry, so is a heavy hitter.

It is there to comment on the state of government in Britain and "make specific proposals for reform in Parliament, to. improve the quality and effectiveness of government."

In explaining "what has gone wrong" and the "present unsatisfactory position", the report states that: "Over the last 20 years, the public and media have come to regard several events as notorious examples of bad government: the Community Charge (now remembered as the Poll Tax) in 1990, the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991, the failure of the Child Support Agency, the Hunting Act 2004, the story of the Millennium Dome."

The report states: "The media's increasing appetite for policy initiatives has been a prime source of the high volume of often ill-thought out legislation... A consequence has been that a higher proportion of Bills now enter Parliament incomplete, poorly explained, and requiring substantial amendment.

That situation not only wastes scarce parliamentary time but also increases the likelihood that the resulting statute will need amending because it has proved unsatisfactory, or in some instances unworkable." Couldn't have put it better ourselves.

This report gives powerful independent backing to the case for repeal of the Hunting Act; a bad law passed for bad reasons that has failed spectacularly.

The endless warnings from inside and outside the Government that a refusal to legislate on the basis evidence and principle would lead to chaos were ignored. We now live with the consequence: an unworkable piece of legislation that has wasted thousands of hours of police time and millions of pounds of taxpayers money.

The other examples of bad Government listed in the report have all been reversed. The Poll Tax was scrapped, the Child Support Agency replaced and the Millennium Dome sold off.

Whoever is in Government after the election must also address the Hunting Act and give Parliament an opportunity to reverse it as well.

Simon Hart Chief Executive Countryside Alliance

WorkingGundogs, Leicestershire, Rutland, Northanptonshire, Cambridge