Marine and Coastal Access Bill [HL]

The Joint Committee certainly suggested that there should be a duty on the MMO to further sustainable development, and that there should be a definition of sustainable development in the Bill. In their response, the Government started by saying that they agreed that the MMO should have a duty in relation to sustainable development, but they did not like the way that we had laid it out. They felt that the language in the draft Bill, which used the word ““contribution””, was right. This was partly for the reason just given by the noble Lord, Lord Greaves. The MMO, on its own, will not be able to achieve this; many other bodies are involved. I think we have a difficulty here because it seems that the degree of sustainable development that the MMO must achieve is going to depend on the guidance set out by the Secretary of State. Whether the Government have it in mind to tighten up on these definitions and on the amount of sustainable development that should be included in those guidelines is a question that only the Minister can answer. Perhaps he does not yet know. It is difficult to discuss this in advance of knowing what the guidance on sustainable development will be.