Marine and Coastal Access Bill [HL]

My Lords, I was already quailing in front of the noble Lord, Lord Greaves, in his assertions on this amendment, which we did discuss in Committee. Obviously I did not give him sufficient assurances then. As he has now been joined by the noble Lord, Lord Taylor, I can feel the pressure of force majeure. Clause 65 places on the licensing authority an obligation to publish, or require the applicant to publish, an application for a marine licence in a manner that is, ""best calculated to bring the application to the attention of any persons likely to be interested in it"." It is the Government’s view that that would in all circumstances encompass local authorities whose areas are likely to be affected by the application without a specific reference in the Bill to do so. Other legislation uses exactly that phrase without further qualifying it in the way that the amendment seeks to do. We think that that is the right approach and that is why we resisted the amendment in Committee. However, I have listened to the strength of feeling expressed by the two noble Lords who have spoken today and it is clear that the assurances we gave in Committee are not sufficient. Therefore, we will look further at this issue between now and Third Reading. On that basis, I hope that the noble Lord will think that he has pressed the Government far enough today.