Marine and Coastal Access Bill [HL]

My Lords, I am most grateful to those who have supported this amendment and I say to the noble Lord, Lord Greenway, that we do not want to spoil anybody’s pleasure in recreational activities on the sea or in the sea. It is a question of getting the right balance and not forgetting that those who are enjoying the pleasures of the sea are not ruining somebody else’s enjoyment of a beautiful seascape. I did not hear the Minister, in his remarks, specifically answer the four points that I raised about the marine policy statement, although he was able to give some new reassurance about it and about the proposed functioning of the marine planning system. I do not fully understand why a definition of "seascape" is so difficult, especially when there is a perfectly adequate one in the high-level objectives document I quoted. Nevertheless, I appreciate that this is a very complex area and we want to get it absolutely right. Since we are aware that work is ongoing in getting it right, I will live in hopes of another opportunity to see this enshrined in primary legislation. In the mean time, I beg leave to withdraw the amendment. Amendment 110C withdrawn.