Marine and Coastal Access Bill [HL]

First, I thank the Committee for spending this length of time on this important group of amendments; it has been an excellent debate. I also thank the Committee for the very kind comments about what an expert I am. Of course, if I were a real expert, I would probably be somewhere in waders, quite muddy and with a lot of sampling kit. What I can say is that I have had a lot of excellent advice from many experts, including all the organisations in Wildlife and Countryside Link and from Natural England. The description by the noble Lord, Lord Taylor of Holbeach, of a highly protected marine conservation zone as a pristine environment—that is what we should be trying to get to—was telling and one that we should keep in our minds as we think about what we are trying to achieve. It suggests something that is in no way despoiled. I also thank my noble friend Lord Livsey of Talgarth, who raised a very good example of where, not for the first time, the Welsh are ahead of us in their thinking. They want to have a number of highly protected sites. His point was that the Bill must support that. The noble Lord, Lord Eden of Winton, made the point that this is likely to be the only legislation for a long time to come. After the Minister’s full reply, for which I thank him, I am much happier about his answers on networks. He gave a very helpful explanation of networks and how the Government envisaged them. We do not doubt the Government’s commitment to the marine area, otherwise we would not have the Bill before us; they are giving it considerable government time. Despite all the Minister’s replies, I am still concerned. He says that he wants the MMO to be strong; that is exactly what we want. I still do not believe that we will be giving it a good tool in Clause 113 as it stands. Amendment A118 is still essential: the MMO should be able to designate a zone from the start as a highly protected marine conservation zone. The Minister says that nothing prevents a highly protected zone, but nothing in the Bill encourages it either. With other noble Lords who have spoken, I will mull over where we have got to after this interesting debate.