Marine and Coastal Access Bill [HL]

I am almost lost for words, not—I hasten to add—having listened to the noble Lord’s amendment, but because my speaking note is extremely brief. It is one line which says, ““This all seems fairly sensible and uncontroversial. Stand up and support””, so here I am. Before I support the amendment, I congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Greenway, on chairing the Joint Committee and producing that excellent report. It has certainly made my life—and, I am sure, all your Lordships’ lives—much easier by highlighting so many of the important issues. I am only too happy to obey my instruction to support the amendment, so ably moved by the noble Lord. Not only does it seem sensible, but I hope the Minister will confirm that the Secretary of State will ensure that all EU treaties and international agreements are complied with. Since receiving my speaking note, I have been racking my brain for something to add and two points spring to mind. First, Clauses 35 and 36 are about directions and guidance by the Secretary of State. When, last week, I moved Amendment 52 on the need to review guidance from time to time, the Minister said: "““I can reassure noble Lords that we will review and if necessary amend the guidance at appropriate points””.—[Official Report, 21/1/09; col. 1705.]" The Minister went on to list examples of when this might be necessary. With this amendment in mind, perhaps the Minister would add ““compliance with EU treaties and international agreements”” to his list. I have no idea where it came from but I have received a draft Defra booklet, dated December 2008. The photograph of the Minister is to follow, as is his text, so I do not know what the final version says, but on European directives the draft says: "““The MMO will play a key role in the implementation of the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive, but at this stage it has not been decided exactly what form this role will take, or whether the MMO will act as competent authority for the Directive. This will be considered in more detail as part of the ongoing transposition process.""Similarly, the MMO may take on a competent authority role in the marine area in relation to the Environmental Liability Directive but the nature of this role has not yet been decided””." Have the Government decided yet whether the MMO will take on the competent authority role and, if not, who will? Indeed, if not, I can add this to my list of areas where the MMO’s authority is being undermined. This goes back to the debate on Amendment 59, when I cited four examples. Oil and gas are covered by DECC; large renewable installations are covered by the IPC; shipping is covered by the Marine and Coastguard Agency; and the marine conservation zones are probably covered by Natural England. If the MMO will not be responsible as the competent authority here, that is yet another thing that I can add to my list. Secondly, this amendment is all about reacting positively to EU and international agreements, but should the Government not be proactive when dealing with the EU and the international marine community? I have two examples of when this should happen. First, have the Government started negotiations on extending the 12-mile derogation beyond 2012? Secondly, have the Government started talks with EU member states and non-EU countries to ensure that they will respect and abide by our rules with regard to marine conservation zones? The Joint Committee states on page 19 of its report: "““The Seafish Industry Authority said that ‘we are approaching the major problem area of legislating in a way that will control activities of UK nationals but not necessarily non-UK nationals’ and that French, Belgian and Spanish fishermen were unlikely to respect the management provisions in an area where they have no requirement to comply””." Those are two examples of where the Government should be proactive. I ask the Minister whether they are being proactive in those two areas.