Marine and Coastal Access Bill [HL]

Amendment 72 seeks to explore why the Government have retained the flexibility to make loans on a non-commercial basis to the MMO, when Clause 30 has already empowered them to grant the organisation any such money as they see fit. I am not trying to say that there is no place for a government loan; I imagine that there might be many situations where the MMO takes on the financial burden of setting up a scheme that is eventually self-financing. It might be more appropriate in that case for it to apply for a government loan, rather than to deplete resources that are better preserved for less remunerative duties. However, the Bill is not drafted to allow government loans only in areas where there is a financial benefit in so doing. Instead, we have an enormously vague clause that allows the provision of any amount of money under any terms. There is not even a requirement that such loans should be repaid. Given the enormous power in Clause 30, it might seem a little otiose to seek to limit Clause 33, but the Government’s approach to accounting for government spending and taxpayer commitments has shown us just what can be conveniently left off certain balance sheets when it is unclear what is a payment, what is a loan and what is something else altogether. By ensuring that loans are put on a commercial basis, we can ensure that they are only made when it is financially appropriate for the duty to be funded by such a mechanism, rather than out of the MMO’s general budget. I look forward to the Minister’s response, and I would appreciate a fuller explanation of why he envisages making the non-commercial loans to the MMO over and above its annual funding.