Marine and Coastal Access Bill [HL]

My Lords, in moving Amendment 39, I shall also speak to Amendment 63 in this group. What the Minister had to say about working with local authorities in our brief discussion on Amendment 18 and the overlap in area between coastal local authorities and the MMO was very welcome. He talked about working with the Local Government Association, which has a coastal authorities special interest group. My noble friend Lady Miller says that I referred to it in Committee as a special needs group. If I did, I certainly did not mean it in quite that way. Clause 16 deals with bodies that are eligible to have a delegation from the MMO. My amendment would add local authorities to the list. The list includes harbour authorities. Some harbour authorities are also local authorities, but I understand that not all coastal local authorities are harbour authorities. This is not a very dramatic or wide amendment. Under Clause 15(1), the delegation requires the approval of the Secretary of State. Clause 17 precludes the delegation of a function that is not compatible with a local authority function, so any suggestion that the amendment would give local authorities far too wide a remit would be incorrect. Clause 18 requires the delegation to have a time limit. The local authorities that are coastal authorities undertake land-use planning down to mean low water and prepare their local development frameworks accordingly. This overlaps with the marine planning function, extending to mean high water. Certain local authorities have by-law-making powers that extend offshore, such as zoning areas for water sports, and certain local authorities deliver coastal protection measures that involve the development between the mean high and low water marks and sometimes even below mean low water. In Committee, the Minister said in a debate on another amendment that, ""there will be occasions when, for reasons of resources, expertise or geographical remit, another body is better placed to perform a function on the MMO’s behalf".—[Official Report, 21/1/09; col. 1758.]" It would therefore be entirely appropriate to include local authorities in the list. I appreciate that if they are not included, the Secretary of State can add them because he can add eligible bodies by order, but if it is appropriate for them to be eligible it is appropriate now and we should say so from the start. My Amendment 63, which would amend Schedule 5, would require consultation with representatives of coastal local authorities, although not necessarily with every single one, during the preparation of the consultation draft of the marine policy statement and the finalising of that statement, for the reasons that I just gave in speaking to Amendment 39. I beg to move.