Marine and Coastal Access Bill [HL]

That this Bill be read a second time. My Lords, there can be no denying that our oceans, seas and coasts have a huge impact on our lives. The UK marine area is a vast and important resource; not only does it provide us with valuable economic, environmental and cultural benefits, it also plays a major role in influencing our climate and in sustaining life. Our seas provide food, transport, recreation, relaxation and inspiration. The UK has one of the richest marine environments in the world, with more than 8,000 species, from tiny plankton to minke whales, recorded in our seas. Protecting the sea must therefore be a high priority. Without a Marine and Coastal Access Bill, we risk severe long-term damage and reduced sustainability of our valuable marine resources. If we do not act now, we are likely to require more severe restrictions in future with consequently higher costs. Protecting our seas is our biggest environmental challenge after climate change and the two are closely linked. We must also meet the challenge of finding space in our seas for sensible and necessary development such as renewable energy generation. So the proposals set out in the Bill are intended to be sufficiently flexible to take account of changes to the marine environment whether this arises as a result of climate change, technological development or for any other reason. If we are to ensure that future generations can continue to see these benefits, we must recognise and manage the pressures on the seas and create a healthier, productive and more biologically diverse marine environment. The Marine and Coastal Access Bill will raise the management and protection of our seas to a world-leading level while enabling its rich resources to be used sustainably and for the benefit of all. It has been said many times before but it is worth saying once again: this Bill is groundbreaking legislation. The UK will be the first country in the world to take such an ambitious and wide-ranging, structured approach to marine management. The Bill addresses the whole management cycle from setting policy objectives to ensuring the activities permitted, and then what people actually do, are consistent with that policy. The provisions to designate a network of marine conservation zones to conserve rare and threatened habitats and species, together with those to provide recreational access to England’s coastline, will also deliver important elements of our vision for making the most of our seas and coastline. I would like to take this opportunity to say how helpful the process of pre-legislative scrutiny has been in developing this Bill. In particular, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Greenway, and the other members of the Joint Committee who carried out pre-legislative scrutiny under his chairmanship. The Committee faced a challenging task over the summer and we are most grateful for the constructive report which they produced. Undoubtedly, the Bill has benefited from their thorough and careful examination of its draft. We have also had assistance from the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee in the other place, which examined the coastal access provisions of the draft Bill and last, but by no means least, from some 15,000 organisations and members of the public who responded to our public consultation. I am pleased to report that the consensus has been strongly in support of the Bill’s principles, often expressed with proposals aimed at strengthening its provisions. Our proposed approach has attracted significant public support and, in some areas, has been long-awaited. As a result of this pre-legislative scrutiny process, a good draft Bill has been improved—made stronger and more transparent. The Government’s response to pre-legislative scrutiny, published in September, set out how we intended to further develop the draft Bill. Before moving on to the detailed provisions of the Bill, noble Lords might find it helpful if I outlined some key changes made to it following pre-legislative scrutiny. We have introduced a requirement on policy authorities periodically to review the marine policy statement, which has been made subject to a parliamentary process similar to that on national policy statements recently debated in the Planning Bill—now Planning Act. Marine plan authorities are under an obligation to do what they can to ensure compatibility with terrestrial plans. We have improved the marine licensing provisions by requiring each appropriate licensing authority to establish an appeals mechanism. We have amended the nature conservation provisions in a number of ways to provide the greater clarity and certainty requested by the Joint Committee, including conferring a duty on Ministers to designate a network of marine conservation zones and a requirement to submit a report to Parliament on progress in developing the network of marine protected areas in 2012 and at least every six years thereafter. We have introduced a requirement for Natural England to conduct a review of early implementation of the coastal access scheme and to report to Parliament after 10 years. I am also pleased to say that, since pre-legislative scrutiny, the Government have reached agreement with the devolved Administrations on a UK-wide approach to marine planning. This agreement ensures that the Bill truly provides a coherent legislative framework with greater clarity and certainty for all those seeking to enjoy or make a living from the UK’s waters. Turning to the Bill’s detail, Part 1, together with Schedules 1, 2 and 3, establishes a new independent body, the Marine Management Organisation. It will act as the UK Government’s strategic delivery body in the marine area and its centre of marine management expertise. Its general objective is to deliver its marine functions in a consistent and co-ordinated manner, taking into account the effect which decisions in one area will have on any other area of activity, with the objective of making a contribution to the achievement of sustainable development. The Marine Management Organisation will be a non-departmental public body and will report formally to Parliament through the Secretary of State. It will be responsible for drawing up marine plans for the purposes of the new marine planning regime as well as administering a new integrated marine environmental licensing regime, and enforcing fisheries, licensing and nature conservation legislation. Part 2 and Schedule 4 set out the UK marine area which is used by subsequent parts of the Bill to define where certain activities may take place. It also allows for an exclusive economic zone to be designated and amends the Government of Wales Act 2006 to insert a definition of the Welsh zone. Further functions, in relation to fisheries’ matters, may then be transferred to Welsh Ministers by an Order in Council. This provision will bring Wales into line with Scotland and Northern Ireland. Part 3 and Schedules 5 and 6 introduce a new system of marine planning. This is a relatively new process, designed to address the challenges emerging from the growth in competing uses of the sea. It is designed to help public authorities and stakeholders to co-ordinate their policies and actions in the marine environment more holistically to achieve effective and long-term sustainable development. The planning provisions provide for the preparation of a marine policy statement which will be prepared and agreed by the UK Government and the devolved Administrations. The marine policy statement will set out the policies and priorities for the whole of the UK marine area and will take into consideration the different priorities of all the different UK Administrations. A series of marine plans will then be prepared throughout UK waters, in full consultation with stakeholders from all sectors, to translate the policies in the marine policy statement to the local level. The marine policy statement and marine plans will guide and direct decisions in the marine environment to ensure a strong link between national policy and individual developments. The marine licensing provisions set out in Part 4 and Schedules 7, 8, 9 and 10 will replace the licensing and consent controls currently exercised under Part II of the Food and Environment Protection Act 1985 and Part II of the Coast Protection Act 1949. These changes will provide greater certainty about the outcome and timing for applicants for licences and will make it easier for licensing authorities to make decisions that are consistent with policy. This part also amends the relationship between marine licensing and certain legislation governing activities in the marine area. It also provides for the mechanisms and powers for enforcing the licensing regime. Part 5 and Schedules 11, 12 and 13 provide a power across most UK waters to designate new marine conservation zones in place of the current power under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 to designate marine nature reserves. We propose to convert existing marine nature reserves into marine conservation zones. The network of marine conservation zones will complement the Natura 2000 network of European sites. This will help us to fulfil the UK’s commitment, under the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic—otherwise known as OSPAR—to establish a network of marine-protected areas. The Bill also provides for new duties on public bodies to exercise their functions in ways that further the conservation objectives set for marine conservation zones and to not authorise activities or development where it carries a significant risk of hindering those conservation objectives. There will also be powers to make by-laws and interim by-laws to protect sites, and potential sites, from otherwise unregulated activities which may cause harm. A general offence is also included and will catch acts of deliberate damage to a marine conservation zone. Part 6 and Schedule 14 provide powers to replace sea fisheries committees with new bodies called inshore fisheries and conservation authorities. IFCAs will have a duty to manage the exploitation of sea fisheries resources sustainably, balancing socio-economic benefits with protection of the marine environment. Part 7 and Schedules 15 and 16 amend existing legislation relating to marine fisheries. They amend the Sea Fish (Conservation) Act 1967 in relation to regulating commercial and recreational fishing. They also amend the Sea Fisheries (Shellfish) Act 1967 to modify the way that several and regulating orders, which are used to establish and manage shellfisheries, are made and used. They amend an existing power to allow the costs of fisheries management to be recouped from the fisheries industry more flexibly. In addition, this part amends legislation relating to migratory and freshwater fish. It gives new and more flexible powers to the Environment Agency to conserve and manage migratory and freshwater fisheries, including powers to make emergency by-laws to respond to unforeseen threats to fish stocks and powers to introduce a new regulatory system for the movement of live fish to protect national and local biodiversity. Part 8 and Schedules 17 and 18 provide for the appointment of marine enforcement officers and a set of common enforcement powers for enforcing requirements across licensing, nature conservation and fishing in the marine area. It grants powers to marine enforcement officers to enforce fisheries legislation and deal with goods and money; simplifies the procedure for implementation of EU fisheries legislation; and confers power to introduce an administrative penalty scheme for domestic fisheries offences. Part 9 and Schedule 19 introduce provisions to extend recreational access to the English coast and to enable the creation, as far as possible, of a continuous route around the coast, wide enough to allow unconstrained passage on foot, and recreational space on coastal land associated with the route. It also contains provisions for framework powers, enabling the Welsh Assembly to make similar provisions for the Welsh coast. Part 10 and Schedule 20 amend legislation in relation to Natural England and modify the regime governing harbours set out in the Harbours Act 1964. It also introduces navigational controls into the Energy Act 2008, in lieu of those currently contained in the Coast Protection Act. Finally, Part 11 and Schedule 21 cover procedural issues and definitions connected with earlier clauses. Marine-related activities in the UK contribute between 3 and 4 per cent of our GDP and directly employ half a million people. Without effective planning and licensing, managed by a single strategic body—and we envisage the Marine Management Organisation—we are at risk of being unprepared to deal with the new demands that expanding industries, such as renewable energy generation, will present. Changes to the current licensing regime are needed to reduce bureaucracy and its associated costs. New enforcement powers will ensure that operators who fail to comply with licence conditions do not gain an unfair advantage. Marine and freshwater fishery proposals will provide powers to local managers that are flexible, reflect modern management and enable sustainable exploitation of fishery resources. We all stand to gain from the Marine and Coastal Access Bill. It will give better access to the English coastline; simplify and streamline regulation; reduce costs; improve marine management and the protection of wildlife; and provide for the integrated planning and management of our seas, coast and entries. I look forward to hearing the views of noble Lords in today’s debate and to debating our proposals in future stages, should this Bill be given a Second Reading. I commend the Bill to the House.