Fishery Limits (United Kingdom) Bill [HL]

My Lords, I shall answer the noble Lady’s question before I sit down. Another encouraging development is that the Commission has begun discussions earlier than ever before on the decisions that will need to be taken in December about fishing next year. We are also looking at ways of improving the decision-making process. During our presidency, which begins in a few weeks’ time, we will be working to encourage those developments. As regards recent developments in the UK on the future management of our fisheries, there has been an encouraging reaction from those concerned to our engagement with them following the Net Benefits reports from the Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit. The analysis in Net Benefits shows how the UK fishing industry could have a sustainable and profitable future and makes a number of recommendations on how to achieve that. It urges the four fisheries departments in the UK, and others who are involved, to get together to work out in detail how to bring that future about, which we have been doing. I am pleased that the discussions have been constructive. We are in the final stages of producing a government response, to be published very soon, which will set out how in partnership we propose to move to a better future. The recommendations in Net Benefits were presented in the context of the Strategy Unit’s judgment that the CFP provides a robust process for taking fisheries management decisions and a clear mechanism for sharing fishing opportunities. Frankly, the quality of the decisions taken and the policies applied needs to be improved. In the light of the recommendations, our forward plans will include action to secure improvements in the operation of the common fisheries policy. The noble Lady, Lady Saltoun, asked about regional advisory councils. They are not all in the UK. They cover all EU fisheries, including some in which we have limited interest, such as the Mediterranean Sea. To conclude, there is a lot for the UK to achieve to further the future of our fishing industry, but that can be achieved only from within the common fisheries policy and by addressing and being patient with the frustrations that the CFP poses. It would not do any service to those aims or to the Ministers and officials who have to pursue them to pull out of the CFP in the way that the Bill would allow. Of course, in the same way as the noble Baroness, Lady Miller, mentioned, the Government will not oppose Second Reading because convention says that we do not do so. But the noble Lady, Lady Saltoun, will know from what I have said that we cannot accept the Bill as it stands. We recognise the real concern shown around the House today. Once again, I thank the noble Lady for raising this topic.