Marine and Coastal Access Bill [HL]

I move Amendment 146 on behalf of my noble friend Lord Taylor. We have tabled this amendment to probe the expedited process for designating marine conservation zones. Clause 116(1) states very clearly that there is a due process for designating, which is described in subsections (2) to (9). This process involves publishing proposals and consulting the appropriate persons, including the Secretary of State. Subsection (10), however, allows the appropriate authority to miss out all the stages of the publication of the proposed site and the consultation on it if the area in question requires urgent protection. Will the Minister say what he considers to be "an urgent need" to protect an area? Having waited so long for a marine Bill, what could be so urgent that it cannot wait to go through the normal stages, and who would decide this urgency? Having asked the question, I acknowledge that there will be times when it is crucial to designate a marine conservation zone to stop irreversible damage and the time needed to publish the notice and complete the consultation exercise is unacceptably long. It would be helpful if the Minister could say what he expects the timeframe to be from identifying an area as a possible marine conservation zone and its actual designation as an MCZ. Will he also make it clear to the Committee what other occasions might be needed and what safeguards will be put into place to make sure that subsections (10) and (11) cannot be exploited by one group or another? We support the principle of the Bill, and we want MCZs to be able to protect areas as quickly and effectively as possible. We do not wish harm to befall an area simply because the proposal for designation got caught up in bureaucracy. Nevertheless, we are nervous about the power that subsections (10) and (11) could afford. Perhaps the Minister can reassure us and put on to the record when and in what circumstances these two subsections might be used. To this end, I also declare our tentative support for Amendments A148 and A196, in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Greenway. Before he speaks to them, however, I note that on day six of Committee the Minister said that, ""in developing the network … it will be subject to monitoring, review, amendment and, I am sure, improvement beyond 2012 ... the network will evolve after 2012 and even after 2020 as pressures on our marine environment change".—[Official Report, 3/3/09; col. 684.]" With this in mind, it seems that the amendments tabled by the noble Lord, Lord Greenway, are very relevant, and I look forward to hearing him speak to them. I beg to move.