Marine and Coastal Access Bill [HL]

The noble Baroness raises the question of whether every marine plan should be subject to independent scrutiny before it is adopted and what regard the Secretary of State should have to the recommendations arising from such scrutiny in deciding whether to give his agreement to the adoption of a devolved marine plan. I shall deal first with Amendments 89J and 89JZA to paragraph 13 of Schedule 6. As currently drafted, this paragraph requires a marine plan authority to consider, after the public consultation and before adopting a plan, whether there is a need to appoint an independent investigator to investigate the proposed plan and report on it. In deciding whether to appoint an investigator, the marine plan authority must have regard to the various representations that people have made throughout the preparation of the plan and the public consultation. The noble Lord, Lord Taylor, invites me to be very specific about when such a power should be used. However, I am going to resist that and say to him that the guiding principle is that it is intended to be used to resolve any issues that remain outstanding after the public consultation. Our aim is to ensure that the plans prepared have the support of the local community as well as the various industries, interest groups and regulators who, in one way or another, will be using the plan or subject to it. It is clearly in everyone’s interest to ensure that issues are resolved and consensus reached wherever possible. It will inevitably not be possible to please all of the interests all of the time and that is where an independent viewpoint might be helpful. We have learned from the examination in public process recently carried out in relation to regional spatial strategies under the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004. But there is a distinction, to which the noble Baroness fairly referred in her opening remarks, in that the marine environment is not the same as the land. A slightly different approach is justified, building on the best aspects of examination in public while recognising the different interests and issues that arise at sea. We have therefore put in place a mechanism to allow independent scrutiny, but we do not think that it is appropriate to make it mandatory for every plan. The reason we do not believe it should be mandatory comes down to a point which the noble Lord, Lord Taylor, raised in his interesting comments about avoiding bureaucratic processes, a point which I well understand. In the debate on the planning Act, which I joined at a late stage, one could see that part of the legislation’s purpose was to address the frustrations felt by many with the past planning system. The point is that having an automatic inquiry would mean that there would be less incentive to reach a common position throughout the development of the plan. Two key themes have emerged from our debates on the Bill so far. First, lots of different interests are concerned about the marine environment. Secondly, to make it work we need people to work together. We therefore want to provide incentives throughout the Bill to encourage people to work together. We want people to engage actively in the planning process and to consider and resolve issues not only with the planning authority but with each other throughout in reaching a common agreement. The interests likely to be affected at sea are rather different from those found on land. There are fewer personal and private property rights and more potential conflicts of principle about how best to manage, conserve or exploit our marine resources. We believe that the lower number of private property rights will reduce the need for an automatic independent inquiry. People will also have the opportunity via participation in the preparation of the marine policy statement to shape the Government's direction on these matters of principle, which will then be fed down into the marine plans. We have also discussed why it may not be appropriate to plan in depth for all areas of the sea. Some areas are far less busy than others. It would not seem the best use of public resources to require an independent scrutiny if in practice there was no need for one. This approach also allows flexibility, so that the independent scrutiny process is proportionate to the issues raised. The noble Lord, Lord Taylor, raised a point on regulation. I say to him that we want a proportionate approach to how we do it. Of course people feel very strongly about the sea and the coast, particularly those for whom the sea provides their livelihood. We want to hear what they have to say. A plan which does not have the support of the local community, industry and interest groups is likely to be challenged, and this will make it harder for decision-makers and investors to rely on it. The short answer to the major questions raised is that we would commission an independent investigation wherever there are substantial unresolved issues, and where it can add value. If that were the case with every plan, the Bill would enable us to appoint an independent person. Amendment 89JZC seeks to amend paragraph 15(2) of Schedule 6. This amendment could place the Secretary of State in a rather difficult position. I should like to explain a little more about why we have required the Secretary of State’s agreement to the adoption of devolved marine plans, although I realise that we shall debate this in relation to later amendments. The purpose of requiring the Secretary of State to agree to the adoption of devolved marine plans is to ensure that non-devolved policies and functions are appropriately represented and protected in those plans. This final agreement should be a formality since we expect and indeed have every confidence that the devolved plan authorities will work closely with the Secretary of State and the UK Government throughout the planning process to ensure that we are content with their proposals. Following the agreement last autumn under the auspices of the joint ministerial committee, there are also a number of other fixed points during the planning process at which the Secretary of State must give his agreement, including before the publication of the statement of public participation and before the publication of the draft plan for public consultation, to minimise the chance of the Secretary of State being forced to veto a devolved plan because of its potential effect on ““retained”” functions. We have also agreed between Administrations our wish to work constructively together and to produce an agreed MPS and plans. The purpose of the Secretary of State’s agreement is not to reopen the plan to further representations once the marine plan authority is ready to adopt it. As I said, Amendment 89JZC could oblige the Secretary of State to consider the representations made by another person in addition to those made by the independent inspector—perhaps representations made by someone who did not agree with the inspector’s recommendations—leaving the Secretary of State to choose between the views of that person or the independent investigator even if the inspector’s report recommended that the draft plan was satisfactory. We do not think that that amendment would make the process of developing and adopting a marine plan any more transparent or inclusive. Where an independent investigator has endorsed a plan, or where his recommendations have been addressed by the plan authority, we would expect the Secretary of State to give his agreement to that plan, as long as he was content with its effect on matters which are not devolved to the plan authority. Paragraphs 12 and 14 of Schedule 6 require the plan authority to give careful consideration to any representations made about the plan during its preparation and the public consultation as well as those made by an independent investigation, where this has taken place. If it chooses not to implement those recommendations, it is also required by paragraph 15 to give its reasons for that decision. We should not ask the Secretary of State to second-guess the investigator. I hope that I have reassured noble Lords that there are positive reasons for there not being an automatic investigation and that the whole effort is to try to reach consensus. However, where it is not possible to reach consensus on serious matters, it is entirely appropriate for an investigation to be triggered at that stage.