Investigating the Oceans

The Minister nods. The Select Committee will no doubt be encouraged to learn that. Is he confident that there is sufficient co-ordination and that DEFRA is able now to take a lead on these issues? I hope that many of the questions that have been asked will be answered by the Marine and Coastal Access Bill. We still have plenty of opportunities to examine those questions further, by tabling probing or substantive amendments to the Bill, if necessary. We Conservatives are ready to do so if there are continuing concerns. We support the thrust of what the Committee said: these issues have been overlooked and there are fundamentally important organisational challenges. It is right that we should be debating them today.