Marine and Coastal Access Bill [HL]

These amendments follow on from our previous debate. They are intended to give noble Lords an opportunity to discuss the different weight that certain factors will have when designation of marine conservation zones is considered. I speak to Amendment A127, but I will address the other amendments, which, as with the last group, form a platform for a debate on a key issue. In the main, they focus around Clause 114(7), which ensures that the appropriate authority has the power to consider the social and economic consequences of any designation. We consider that reasonable. Indeed, we have added our names to the amendment tabled by the noble Lord, Lord Greenway, to make certain that those consequences are considered. Surely it would be completely counterproductive to seek to deny the Secretary of State the power to consider all consequences of a designation when choosing whether to implement the recommendations. The subsection places no obligation on the appropriate authority to decide in favour of the social and economic consequences, just to be aware of them. As I have argued on the previous group, our preference would be to have social and economic factors regarded rather earlier in the designation process to try to minimise future disagreements. To proceed with MCZs with no regard at all to other legitimate users of the sea would appear to be analogous to sticking one's head in the sand. Conservation bodies may not like some of the other users of the sea, but ignoring their claims on its resources entirely is not the most constructive way forward. Instead we have tabled an amendment which we hope will reassure the conservation bodies that there is genuine commitment to establishing a meaningful conservation network, which we certainly hold, but accepting that there will be disagreements. Our Amendment A140A expresses the Sandford principle, which is already at work in the designation of national parks. In the event of an irreconcilable conflict between conservation objectives and other factors, the conservation objectives would win out. We feel that that places an appropriate level of legislative support for the critical importance of the marine conservation zones. An alternative approach would be our Amendment A140B, under which social and economic factors would be taken into account when two sites of equal conservation value were being considered. More of our amendments in this group highlight some of the factors which might be considered other than purely conservation objectives, such as climate change and energy security. We have debated this topic a few times before, but I felt it would be useful to highlight briefly the wide range of social and economic factors that should be considered. Addressing climate change by promoting renewable energy is, of course, a matter of conservation as well as economics. It is a good example of why the factors that should be regarded should be widened rather than narrowed. Finally, the remaining amendments in this group address consultation. The Bill enables the Government to proceed, as we have mentioned, with the statutory conservation bodies in control of the consultation and recommendation procedure and as sole statutory providers of advice to public authorities on the ongoing management of zones. Our amendment would open up the possibilities for consultation a little wider, ensuring the conservation body’s primary role at the designation stage, but enabling the participation of other interested bodies as well. I beg to move.