UK Parliament / Open data

Marine and Coastal Access Bill [HL]

I have no intention of detaining the Committee for 45 minutes, but I wish to use these technical amendments to pose a more substantive point. Specifically, government Amendment A185 refers to the provision in Clause 125 on bylaws for the protection of marine conservation zones in England. It provides that a bylaw may be made which would prohibit or restrict, ""the doing of anything in the MCZ which will interfere with the sea bed or damage or disturb any object in the MCZ"." Amendment A185 would change "will" in that provision to "would". The point I wish to make is that this relates to the protection of MCZs in England. There is an order-making power in Clause 130 to protect MCZs in Wales, but I can find nowhere in the Bill a provision that allows either a bylaw or order to protect MCZs in Scotland. No power is conferred on Scottish Ministers or the Scottish Parliament. Clause 136 establishes offences but if I can go onshore and give a parallel, you can have an offence against a protected species onshore such as chopping down a tree. However, bylaws prohibiting people lighting fires in the vicinity of a wood might give greater protection as a preventive measure. Why is there not similar protection for MCZs in Scotland as provided for in Clause 125, to which government Amendment A185 refers?
Type
Proceeding contribution
Reference
708 c715 
Session
2008-09
Chamber / Committee
House of Lords chamber
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