Marine and Coastal Access Bill [HL]

My Lords, I believe that I have no relevant interests to declare, but—just in case—I am a member of the All-Party Parliamentary Groups on Arts and Heritage and on Archaeology. I very much agree with what the noble Lord, Lord Bridges, said in drawing attention to his amendment. I also attribute considerable importance to this area of our cultural heritage. In saying that, I should like to refer to a splendid document called Archaeology Enriches Us All, which, among other things, states: ""Archaeology is key to understanding an irreplaceable store of human history, most with no written record and sometimes highly vulnerable"." That is particularly true of the marine environment. I am glad to hear that the noble Lord does not intend to press the amendment today because the Government, in tabling Amendments 82 and 111 in this group, have acknowledged the importance of this area and have—dare I say it?—taken on board amendments tabled earlier by an all-party alliance comprising the noble Lords, Lord Howarth of Newport and Lord Low, the noble Baroness, Lady Miller of Chilthorne Domer, and myself. The issue was discussed also by other noble Lords with considerable expertise and knowledge who are not able to be here today to record their agreement to the government amendments. I am very happy to acknowledge that, in Amendments 82 and 111, the Government have met many if not most of the concerns expressed in Committee. If it were not for these two amendments, there would be no explicit provision or requirement for marine plan authorities to keep historic or archaeological features under review, nor would there be any provision insisting that the authorities designating marine conservation zones have regard to the consequences for any sites in the area that are of historic or archaeological interest. However many times it is said that the Bill’s main emphasis is to protect the natural environment, and however often we are asked to wait patiently for the heritage protection Bill—which may or may not be mentioned in next year’s Queen’s Speech—we nevertheless now have a specific reference point that enables a read-across to relevant existing legislation and to any future legislation which ties in our historic and cultural heritage, and marine archaeology considerations, with the new organisation and zoning arrangements created by the Bill. The recently published high-level marine objectives document entitled Our Seas—A Shared Resource uses the word "heritage" eight times, "archaeology" once and "seascape" three times. In the document originally put out for consultation, "heritage" was used on only four occasions and "archaeology" and "seascape" not once. The noble Lord, Lord Bridges, should be reassured by the fact that "archaeology" is included not only in the Bill but in high-level documents published outside the House. The final document also includes definitions of marine cultural heritage and seascape which we may hear a little more about later on Report. I thank the Minister and all those behind the scenes who have taken part in the discussions that have led to this happy state of affairs. I wish to mention specifically the Defra Minister in another place and the various NGOs, particularly English Heritage, whose input and support have been very significant. This is an important Bill and it should be as comprehensive as possible. As has been said, we send this Bill to another place in a better state. I thank the Government for listening.