Marine and Coastal Access Bill [HL]

I want to talk about the effect of the Bill as it stands on the staff of the present Marine and Fisheries Agency. They are civil servants and under the Bill will move to the new Marine Management Organisation. As I understand it, they will not retain their status as civil servants because the MMO will be a non-departmental public body. I know of no overriding reason why the staff concerned, some 200 to 250 of them, cannot continue to be civil servants, retaining the same rights, responsibilities and conditions of service as they have now. I do not know whether the Minister will be surprised to hear me say this, but the staff concerned are proud to be civil servants. They have chosen careers in public service and neither welcome nor want the loss of Civil Service status and conditions and the ability to continue to access Civil Service jobs. If my understanding of the Bill is right, it is unfortunate when Governments, in order to achieve their policy objectives, find it necessary to adversely affect the position of the staff most directly affected. Why does that have to be done? Are we really being told that the policy objectives could not otherwise be achieved? As I understand it, there are no plans to remove Civil Service status from staff in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland, where similar functions to those in England are carried out. There is also an issue that is addressed in another amendment: if the creation of the MMO results in the removal of Crown immunity, staff may become personally liable for actions taken in the course of their duties—for example, changes in fishing quotas to conserve stocks, or the opening and closing of areas for fishing for the same reason. If the Government are still determined to set up the MMO as a non-departmental public body, I point out that other NDPBs such as ACAS, the Health and Safety Executive and the new Child Maintenance Enforcement Commission have all retained Civil Service status for staff. I believe that the Government’s original intention was to establish CMEC as an NDPB with no civil servants, but subsequently they stated that it was to be given Crown status and that its staff would retain Civil Service status for at least three years. On top of the change of status of the staff and the implications of that for the future regarding terms and conditions, there is the prospect of at least some staff finding that the post they hold now has been transferred if the headquarters of the MMO is outside London. What is the position on that? If the headquarters is moved outside London it is likely that a majority of staff will not be prepared to relocate, and expertise and experience will be lost. I have been told that staff were given to understand that they would be advised of the intentions regarding the future location or locations just before Christmas, but nothing was said. I am also advised that an announcement on MFA relocation was expected on 22 January, but that again the staff were informed that the decision had been delayed. On 23 January the Plymouth-based Western Morning News announced that the headquarters would be in Newcastle. Do the Government think that the issue of relocation is being well handled? What is the present position? The best way of dealing with the unwanted change in status of the staff would be for the Government to say that the MMO would be an executive agency, an agent of the Crown, and that its staff would be regarded as servants or agents of the Crown and enjoy the status, immunity and privilege of the Crown. I hope my noble friend will agree to give consideration to this point, which would make my amendment unnecessary, with a view to his bringing back amendments to the Bill at a later stage to achieve that objective. The MFA was set up in October 2005 and has proved successful. It would be entirely capable, with or without a change of name, of carrying out the new functions and remit outlined in the Bill. The main significant difference between the current MFA and the proposed MMO appears to be marine planning responsibilities, on which I am told less than 10 per cent of the staff will be engaged. My amendment to Schedule 3 would address the situation in the Bill. The schedule provides that if an employee at the Marine and Fisheries Agency objects to being transferred to the new organisation, the employee’s contract of employment is terminated immediately before the transfer date. Presumably, the employee is then faced with the threat of being classified as having resigned voluntarily on refusal to accept change of status. At a time when departments are under instructions to reduce head counts, that threat could become a reality in some instances where an individual has no wish to accept redundancy. There has been no commitment from Defra that staff who do not want to lose their Civil Service status will be found another Civil Service post within the department. There are also a small number of MFA staff based in each of a number of different coastal offices. What will happen to them if they do not wish to accept the change in status? Will they be offered another Civil Service post and, if so, where? Many of the MFA are specialist staff. This proposed change in status and possibly location risks the loss of specialist skills and expertise. Even those who remain may well find themselves in a post that is of little interest to them and which does not use their skills to maximum advantage. Is this really the Government’s intention? Is it the way to treat staff? My amendment’s purpose is to at least ensure that an employee working at the Marine and Fisheries Agency who expresses objection to the transfer of the contract of employment, on the grounds of losing the status of Crown servant, continues to have that contract of employment after the transfer date and is to be regarded as an employee of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with the status of Crown servant. I hope that my noble friend’s reply will show that the Government share my view that there is no reason why the staff affected by the policy changes in the Bill will suffer adverse consequences to the extent that would occur under the Bill.