Marine and Coastal Access Bill [HL]

My Lords, that is a fair intervention. I hope that I can satisfy the noble Lord on that point, but I must say that we have looked very carefully at whether we can go further in terms of what is in the Bill. The firm advice that I have received as of today is that that presents us with great problems. We think that the provisions already in the Bill, alongside the requirement to satisfy European and international commitments and the redrafted duty to designate marine conservation zones, effectively ensure that the Government will deliver on both defining and designating an ecologically coherent network. To come to the point raised by the noble Lord, Lord Wallace, of course I know that noble Lords feel strongly about this matter; I do too. There would be no point in taking the Bill through the House unless we were satisfied that at the end of it we would have the kind of ecologically coherent network that we all want. In the light of our debate, I can offer to amend the Explanatory Notes to highlight that Clause 119(3) sets out what the network of marine conservation zones should achieve, listing three core principles based on the definition of an ecologically coherent network developed for the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic. It is worth pointing out that the Explanatory Notes issued with an Act of Parliament are used to inform cases of doubt in court, as they give further advice and information on the intent behind the provisions. The amendment to the Explanatory Notes will reference ecological coherence, while allowing flexibility to respect evolving definitions of ecological coherence in years to come. Although we believe that we are constrained by what we can put in legislation, of course we have much more freedom to set out what we mean in other documents, because they can evolve over time. The draft strategy, Delivering Marine Conservation Zones and European Marine Sites, published on 20 April for consultation, sets out the principles that we believe we should use in creating the UK's ecologically coherent network. We also intend to issue guidance to the regional projects responsible for recommending potential marine conservation zones to the Secretary of State. We revised the draft guidance, which we originally published this time last year. The guidance gives us the opportunity to provide further detail about what the Government mean and understand by the various principles that underpin ecological coherence, and provides clear advice to the regional projects that will identify the network to use those principles. These include, for example, connectivity, which is an important issue for several noble Lords who have spoken on this matter. Clearly, the network should maximise and enhance the linkages that individual marine protected areas will bring, using the best available science. For certain species, that will mean that sites with suitable habitat will need to be chosen so that they allow the movement of key life stages from one place to another. That can all be made clear. I know that I am asking noble Lords to put a lot of trust in guidance on the selection of marine conservation zones. I have already outlined that this is partly to allow such guidance to adapt to circumstances over time. I also accept that the Government need to be clear about setting the framework for the overall guiding principles for the selection of marine conservation zones to ensure that these sites, and other types of marine protected area, deliver an ecologically coherent network, based—as I have said—on our current understanding of that concept. In addition—and I am finally answering the noble Lord, Lord Wallace—I am considering whether to table an amendment at Third Reading that would include a requirement on Ministers to lay a statement before Parliament or the relevant legislature setting out how we intend to use the principles of ecological coherence to deliver a network. The statement might outline the design principles that would be used to deliver ecological coherence as we currently understand it, and how we intend to implement these principles through stakeholder-led regional projects. I have already referred to the guidance that will be given to those taking the regional projects forward. Of course, they will be key in implementing the principles of ecological coherence, but there will also be an independent science advisory panel that will ensure that the network selected by the regional projects delivers to these principles. I said that I am minded to introduce an amendment at Third Reading. I say that because I still need to discuss this with colleagues in the devolved Administrations. I would welcome the opportunity to bring this back at Third Reading, so that we can have another debate about it. I hope then to bring forward an amendment. At heart, I do not disagree with any of the points that noble Lords have raised, but there is a genuine difficulty in having so tight a definition that it may not meet the needs of the marine environment, as our learning, understanding and experience of creating marine conservation zones evolve in the future. I hope that the guidance that will be given to the various bodies that need to take this forward, and my undertaking to do everything that I can to bring back an amendment on the basis that I have already mentioned at Third Reading, will reassure noble Lords that we take this seriously. I am also happy to discuss this further with noble Lords before Third Reading.