Marine and Coastal Access Bill [HL]

My Lords, I draw the attention of the House to my interests declared in the Register. Also my law firm has a planning department and acts for a number of aggregates companies, some of which are marine aggregates companies. Like many other noble Lords, I congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Greenway, and his committee on the excellent work that they have done. This is a lengthy Bill and the committee had much work to do in a very short time. The Bill has been welcomed, although, as my noble friend Lord Greaves and others have said, there is much more to come by way of secondary legislation and guidance. Nevertheless, the Bill is intended to be a framework and we should endeavour to ensure that it is clear, certain and consistent. Policy objectives should be well thought out, evidence-based and co-ordinated. The creation of the Marine Management Organisation to lead and to be responsible for the integrated and co-ordinated management of the UK seas is welcome. The MMO must be funded properly, as the noble Lord, Lord Greenway, said, so that it attracts to itself individuals of high calibre and experience to fulfil its important roles. The fact that membership of the board of the MMO is to be drawn from a wide representative pool is also welcome. The burden of work during the transition period should not be underestimated. The MMO will have to deal with, for example, the marine aggregate licence renewals and the round 3 renewables programme, to name just two matters. The development of a strategic marine planning system has broad support. The marine policy statement should be clear and robust in setting the policy environment, priorities and objectives against which plans should be developed. The plans are unlikely to be right first time and they should be capable of being amended on proper and cogent evidence and during the plan period. We cannot risk the awful interregnum that used to exist with local plans, when they were set in stone for the plan period, which meant that planning policy was stifled and any changes in the plan period were extremely difficult to process. Licences should have sufficient flexibility to take into account, for example, the different environments being worked, whether offshore or estuarial, and the different problems and risks involved. The proposed designation of marine conservation zones is welcome. Proposals should be formed by an evidence-led approach and should take into account the socio-economic interests of the immediate area and the country as a whole. Noble Lords have referred to the difficult balance to be struck between planning and development. It is not easy. We certainly need to protect our environment, our seas and our estuaries. That is a high priority. We also need to ensure that producers can operate reasonably and responsibly.