Marine and Coastal Access Bill [HL]

The noble Earl has raised a very important question. Perhaps I may respond, first, to the question of the IPC and the MMO. We have debated this matter on a number of occasions with regard to this Bill, and I remind noble Lords that we also had extensive debate on it during the passage of the Planning Bill, which led to this House enacting it only 12, 13 or 14 weeks ago. Of course, the MMO is in a strong position to give advice to the IPC. In the end, the IPC must make its own judgments, but it will do so within the context of the NPS. We have said that the marine policy statement and the NPS will be consistent. Although the IPC must clearly make its own decisions, that will be in the very strong context of agreed government policy in the marine policy statement and the national planning statement. I suspect we will come back to debate this at Report, but we are ensuring the integrity of the planning system so that there is consistency on land and in the marine area. We are also ensuring that the MMO’s wisdom and advice is brought to the fore. It is worth making the point that any conditions attached to any consent given by the IPC would fall to be policed by the MMO, so we expect there to be a very close working relationship. It is true that under the Bill I propose to exempt myself as a Minister of DECC from its provisions on oil and gas. I well understand that noble Lords want to question me on that point. Essentially, that exemption reflects the key strategic importance of oil and gas. The Government took a decision at an early stage of the development of oil and gas licensing that, from an energy-security imperative, a stand-alone regime should be operated centrally. We think that that is consistent with the reservation of oil and gas matters to the UK Government. That means that we intend to maintain the current position whereby a tailored regime is operated by the Department of Energy and Climate Change. Of course, we also discussed the strategic nature of energy-related issues during debates on the Energy Act. This exclusion is entirely in line with the strategic position in both the Energy Act and the Planning Act. I hope that I can reassure the noble Earl on the substance of the points he raised about how the Department of Energy and Climate Change will work within the more general requirements that he mentioned. The existing legislative framework for oil and gas is comprehensive, and the regimes are tailored to address the regulatory challenges posed by those activities and to ensure full compliance with stringent international obligations that govern the oil and gas industry. The existing technical specialists in the Department of Energy and Climate Change certainly possess the necessary skills to deal with those complex issues. The existing legislative framework for oil and gas has substantial environmental protection built into it, including the need to conduct strategic environmental assurance assessments, environmental impact assessments and, where appropriate, assessments as required under the EU habitats directive. A range of environmental permits is also required to control atmospheric emissions and discharges to the sea. In not transferring those activities to the MMO, we have taken account of the comprehensive nature of the existing legislative framework and reflected the current licensing and evolution arrangements in this area, while taking the opportunity to avoid duplication and overlap between the existing regulating regimes. Will the Department of Energy and Climate Change be advised by the MMO? The answer is yes. I can assure noble Lords that the department will consult the MMO on its marine activities. Will the department respect marine conservation zones? Yes, as a public authority, the department and the Secretary of State in particular will be bound by Clause 121, which imposes a duty on public authorities to further, or at least not hinder, the achievement of the objectives of marine conservation zones. Even if the noble Earl disagrees with the exclusion of oil and gas, I hope he recognises that we will ensure that there is consistency and read-across to the arrangements we are making in the Bill.