Richard forwarded your email because I deal with our policy on the commons registers.

I’m not aware of any criminal offence of removing a common from the registers, except where done through fraud (see s.14(b) of the 1965 Act which isn’t in itself a criminal offence but the High Court may have powers to prosecute consequent to a referral under s.14(b)).

A commons registration authority can only remove land from the register consequent to the successful completion of the application procedure allowed under any of the following statutory mechanisms, which are or were in force throughout England: s.16 of the 2006 Act, s.19 of the Acquisition of Land Act 1981 or s.147 of the Inclosure Act 1845 (repealed in 2007).

In the pioneer areas only, land can also be removed from the register by virtue of sections 14 and 19, paragraphs 5 to 9 of Schedule 2 or paragraphs 2(2)(c) and (d) of Schedule 3 to the 2006 Act. But an authority only has the power to remove land consequent to a successful application or proposal (an application the authority makes to itself).

If a commons registration authority has removed common land from its register without due authority then a private court action could be taken by any person aggrieved by any such removal.

Neither Defra nor Natural England deals with it: it’s a private affair where anyone affected can choose to take forward a private court action. I hope this is sufficiently clear.

It’s a private affair between the local people, including the commoners and the registration authority.

I’ve already given you the answer. This is not Defra’s responsibility. I have nothing further to add. I will not respond to any further correspondence on this matter

Transparency and openness must underpin every decision your council makes for you.

Fifty years ago this month, Margaret Thatcher's maiden speech championed a Private Members' Bill which would ultimately make councils open up their meetings to the press and public. As she argued at the time, 'The public has the right... to know what its elected representatives are doing'. Indeed, local people should be able to hold politicians and public bodies to account over how their council tax is being spent, and decisions made on their behalf.

We are ushering in a new era of transparency, where every aspect of council business is open to democratic scrutiny and an army of armchair auditors can shine a spotlight on waste and unnecessary cost to help protect frontline services.

For too long, Labour let councils spend your hard-earned cash without proper local accountability. For too long, Labour took local taxpayers for a ride.

You wouldn't spend your money without knowing what you were buying - so why let the Government?

With greater power for local councils must come greater local accountability. We are committed to increasing transparency across Whitehall and local authorities in order to make data more readily available to you, the citizen, and allow you to hold service providers to account. I recently called on every council in the country to publish all of their spending data over £500 online - and only Labour-run Nottingham are yet to deliver, with their Labour leader arrogantly saying 'we have much better things to be doing'. What have they got to hide?

Not only will transparency allow you to see where your money goes and what it delivers, throwing open the council books will also unlock the door to new businesses and encourage greater innovation and entrepreneurship.

When the new Government is giving unprecedented power and freedom to councils, it's more important than ever that local residents can keep tabs on what their town hall is up to. We're bringing the full glare of the public's eye onto spending. I invite you to scrutinise where your money goes and help us make sure it is spent on the right priorities. It's time to put the council receipts at your fingertips.

You can see how your council is spending your money by clicking here.