Marine and Coastal Access Bill [HL]

My Lords, that is a very good question, on which, alas, the noble Duke has found me short. Because of the way in which that was so defined, it is necessary for Scottish vessels, or those originally registered in Scotland, that operate out of English ports to be licensed by the Secretary of State on behalf of Scottish Ministers and for English vessels, or those whose original port of registration was in England, to be licensed by Scottish Ministers on behalf of the Secretary of State. This is a sensible approach; we just need to make sure that, in legislative terms, we can carry on doing it. The noble Duke asked about Spanish vessels rather than Spanish customs. This legislation is not a way in which we can encompass Spanish vessels in the licensing regime. They are licensed by the Spanish Government. Amendment 20 agreed.