Marine and Coastal Access Bill [HL]

My Amendment A217 in this group suggests that there should be a system of simple and conditional cautions, as defined in the Criminal Justice Act 2003, particularly given that some people, as this whole system of marine conservation zones comes in—we have still not heard from the Government that the zones will be marked, where necessary—will make simple mistakes. Those mistakes might be dealt with better, and a far better relationship might be built up between the stakeholders using the sea and the authority trying to enforce this regime, if, instead of going straight to a fine, a caution was an option. Beyond the simple mistake that might get overlooked, there very likely could be a next stage where a person repeats an activity that they have done for generations. They may not understand that what they are doing is serious and that there is a good reason for not continuing to do it. Before a fine is imposed, it would seem reasonable to have the option of a caution. That is in other legislation because it is a tried and tested system, which I hope that the Government will think about.