Marine and Coastal Access Bill [HL]

My Lords, I am grateful for some of the things the Minister said and his commitments about how coastal communities will be involved. I was surprised by his use of the "list" argument. I am not sure which other items he thinks might be in the list. We are talking about the people who live in the coastal regions and along the coast. I do not consider that those people are just part of a list; they are pretty fundamental. I do not think that that argument applies; I am proposing not a list but something fundamental about the MMO’s objectives and how it carries them out. It should work closely with coastal communities. The Minister said that this part of the Bill is about high-level duties. Working with coastal communities is a high-level duty. I am not saying that this amendment is perfect; if the Government do not like the words, I would be delighted if they went away and produced their own. Words are words. What matters is the meaning underneath those words, and that is what I am putting forward today. I agree that the vision for coastal management—the integrated strategy—is an interesting, positive and hopeful document. I agree very much that there should be a sense of ownership and stewardship by coastal communities of what the Marine Management Organisation is doing in the inshore waters that affect them. That as why we are proposing this amendment. I do not understand why the Minister is resisting it being in the Bill since he is actually saying that he agrees with the intention behind it in almost every respect. I should like to test the opinion of the House. Division on Amendment 12 called. Division called off after three minutes due to lack of support for the Contents when the Question was put a second time. Amendment 12 disagreed.