Marine and Coastal Access Bill [HL]

I thank the Minister for giving way, but there we have it: the marine policy statements can vary from Government to Government, and no doubt they will, and will have different emphases from different departments, as one has more clout than another. However, what we are talking about now is the legislation that is going through Parliament to protect marine areas and to guide subsequent government policy as to the will of Parliament on this legislation. That is why we cannot just sit here and wait for guidance to come from the Secretary of State on what is at the heart of the Bill. I believe that the Minister’s department’s heart is in the right place and that he has to be guarded because of the cross-government interests, as he says. The Minister’s colleague Huw Irranca-Davies writes in the introduction to the recently published Defra report, Managing Our Marine Resources—Licensing Under the Marine Bill: "““The changes we are making to the licensing and enforcement systems through the Marine Bill will … provide a clear proportionate regulatory system to protect the marine environment and allow low risk activities to take place where appropriate””." It does not say ““allow them to take place anyway”” but puts the emphasis on protecting the marine environment. I gently ask the Minister to stick to Defra’s guns and to come down on the side of protecting the marine environment.