My Lords, my noble friend says that it is worth waiting for. I do not think that I would put it quite as highly as that. As far as executive devolution is concerned, outside this Bill the Government have agreed in principle to devolve to Scottish Ministers the executive functions in these regulations that relate to offshore waters adjacent to Scotland. Scottish Ministers will become responsible for enforcement of nature conservation under the Bill and the 2007 regulations. The intention is that enforcement officers will have seamless access to the full suite of enforcement powers that they need for enforcing all nature conservation regulations. We are currently in the process of agreeing with the Scottish Executive how the new arrangements will work to ensure continued efficient administration of reserved functions and the protection of UK national interests in these waters.
Before I come on to the issues raised under the noble Lord’s very interesting amendments, I should say that we are looking with great interest at the progress of the Marine (Scotland) Bill. Of course, as the UK Bill continues to go through the UK Parliament, we shall work very hard to ensure compatibility across the two Bills. The noble Lord raised a point in that regard under the last group of amendments. It is entirely relevant to the general discussion that we are having about how we make the devolution settlement work in the marine area.
The noble Lord’s amendments raise two fundamental issues. There is the question, first, of the Scottish Parliament’s competence and, secondly, of whether it is desirable to create a new duty to further diversity in the offshore area. As I have said—and as the noble Lord has said—the Scottish Parliament does not have the competence to legislate on biodiversity in the offshore zone. That is why the noble Lord wants to move this amendment in this House. However, we consider that Scottish Ministers have the ability through the various powers that they have under the Bill to achieve the practical effect of the amendments that he is aiming at. He has already quoted what I was going to say; in Clause 121, there is a duty on public bodies, including those in the Scottish offshore area, to further the conservation objectives in marine conservation zones. Those objectives are aimed in part at furthering biodiversity. The noble Lord made a general point about how the objectives relate to only the designated zones, but it is those zones with which we are most particularly concerned.
What is more, any public authority operating in the Scottish region will have to do so within the terms of the marine plans to be prepared by Scottish Ministers and the marine policy statement, since, under the Bill, we are devolving to Scottish Ministers the responsibility for nature conservation in the Scottish offshore region. They will be able to include in their plans provisions in relation to conservation or furthering biodiversity. In that sense, they will be accountable to the Scottish Parliament for their decisions, which is another point that the noble Lord has made in a number of our debates.
Scottish marine plans for the offshore region will have to be agreed by the Secretary of State but, having given Scottish Ministers executive responsibility for designating marine conservation zones, we see no reason to object to a plan on the grounds that it contained a duty such as that set out in subsection (1) of Amendment 84B, provided that it was consistent with this Bill and the marine policy statement. I hope that the noble Lord finds that comforting. We believe that Scottish Ministers already have the power under this Bill to include a duty to further biodiversity in marine plans, if they see fit.
Amendment 84A seeks to insert a duty to further the conservation of biodiversity within the offshore region adjacent to Scotland. The first question is whether that duty is necessary, and we are not convinced that it is. All UK Administrations have emphasised the importance of consistency across the UK, while respecting the rights of each legislature. We have no such separate, explicit duty to further biodiversity in other UK offshore areas and we do not think that it is necessary. We already have a number of provisions in this Bill and in wider European legislation that allow us to further biodiversity conservation in the offshore area. We, and the Scottish Executive, will be able to consider biodiversity out to 200 nautical miles where MCZs have been designated. Furthermore, the statutory nature conservation bodies will be able to give advice relating to biodiversity under the provision set out in Clause 123. Public authorities are required to have regard to such advice, ensuring that biodiversity is effectively considered. As I have suggested already, our marine planning system provides the opportunity to drive the way that decisions are made in the direction of further biodiversity.
The noble Duke, the Duke of Montrose, raised the question of the birds and habitats directive, matters which are still under discussion with the Scottish Executive. Although they fall outside the Bill, another form of executive devolution is being considered in relation to them. I hope we can have constructive discussions with the Scottish Administration on those matters.
Marine and Coastal Access Bill [HL]
Proceeding contribution from
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath
(Labour)
in the House of Lords on Tuesday, 12 May 2009.
It occurred during Debate on bills on Marine and Coastal Access Bill [HL].
Type
Proceeding contribution
Reference
710 c958-60 
Session
2008-09
Chamber / Committee
House of Lords chamber
Subjects
Librarians' tools
Timestamp
2024-04-21 11:33:44 +0100
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