Marine and Coastal Access Bill [HL]

My Lords, where does fear of the Treasury come from? We always regard the Treasury as our good friend and colleague who is ever eager to seek constructive solutions to the little challenges that we face. I am grateful to the noble Baronesses, Lady Miller and Lady Wilcox, for bringing this matter back. I fully acknowledge that this is a very important issue to the shellfish industry. I also fully acknowledge the importance of this industry to the UK and that it is important that this matter is resolved. Noble Baronesses are right: the decision on 14 May by the House of Lords not to accept the petition from the Crown Estate and Isle of Anglesey County Council to have their case heard is a fact. In the light of that, I hope that a solution will be found to which all parties can agree. It is clear that the current system for granting orders cannot continue and must be changed. We are doing everything that we can to help the parties reach agreement. We are working closely with the Shellfish Association of Great Britain and the Crown Estate. My colleague, Huw Irranca-Davies, has met shellfish industry representatives and the Crown Estate to move the issue forward. The Crown Estate manages Crown land on behalf of the Government. The noble Baroness is right in suggesting that surplus revenue goes to the Treasury, in return for which the monarch receives a fixed annual payment known as the Civil List. The Crown Estate is accountable to Parliament, but is run independently of the Government by a board of appointees. Under the Crown Estate Act 1961, the board has a duty to maintain and enhance the value of the estate and return obtained from it, but with due regard to the requirements of good management. The Crown Estate must report to Parliament once a year, providing accounts and information about its activities for the year, including future activities. It is important to note that, in England and Wales, the legal presumption is that the seabed and foreshore are in the ownership of the Crown. The presumption extends to the bed of all tidal rivers. It extends also to all islands in tidal rivers and coastal waters. The presumption applies in the absence of any evidence of a grant by the Crown to any private individual. It is estimated that the Crown Estate owns around 55 per cent of the UK foreshore, so it is an important player in these matters. The most recent meeting of officials with the Shellfish Association of Great Britain and Crown Estate was at the end of April, where there was agreement on all sides to work together. The use of commercial contracts, with leasing and compensation arrangements between the industry and the Crown Estate based around a memorandum of understanding, is a viable solution to which all sides will be able to agree. We are arranging to meet the parties again urgently to attempt to reach formal agreement to such an approach. We are clear, and we think that the Lords recent decision does not change this, that simply removing the consent clause in the Act will not resolve the problems that we face in granting orders. It does not give the industry the security that it wants to develop economically viable shellfisheries and is likely to jeopardise the development of an approach based on consensus being reached between the Crown Estate and the industry. Although the recent court case leaves some questions unanswered about the operation of the current clause in several and regulating orders, which seek to preserve the rights of the Crown Estate, it is indisputable that the Crown Estate continues to have rights as a landowner. We have to work with those rights in reaching a solution. We also need to have discussions with the Duchies, which have similar rights under the legislation. An additional problem is that the amendment would result in significant costs to the industry, because it is likely that the Crown Estate and possibly other landowners with similar rights would use other means to contest attempts to grant orders against their will. In any event, as part of the application process for an order, the Secretary of State could not ignore representations and objections made by the Crown Estate in reaching a reasonable decision whether to grant an order, especially given its landowner rights. This process would involve the Secretary of State having to call a public inquiry, with all the implications in terms of expense for the applicant for an order. That is our problem with the amendment. It has been suggested that these issues could be resolved by provisions in the legislation to protect the rights of the Crown Estate and other landowners. Our view is that it would be extremely difficult to place such a savings clause in favour of the Crown Estate in primary legislation that would be satisfactory to all sides. The decision of the Judicial Committee to reject the Crown Estate’s appeal undoubtedly means that there are uncertainties over what rights it would have in a savings clause. We are committed to resolving this issue. We think that putting the relationship between applicants for orders and the Crown Estate on a more commercial footing offers a much better, long-term solution, and that removing the consent clause or inserting a savings clause will not help resolve this situation. I am clear that we need to move quickly, and we shall work urgently with the key parties to seek a sustainable solution. If it requires changes in primary legislation, we will consider the most appropriate route, including possible changes to the Bill. I know that the noble Baroness, Lady Miller, says that drafting legislation could be done quickly. Alas, that is not my experience, but I fully take her point. If legislative solution is the way forward, this Bill would seem to offer the most appropriate opportunity. The noble Baroness said that it was unlikely that we will get another chance in relation to the marine environment for some time—I agree with that. I assure noble Lords that if we believed that primary legislation was necessary, we would look to introducing it during the passage of the Bill, probably in another place. However, it may not be necessary. It seems abundantly clear that, above all, we need the parties to work through a solution that is satisfactory to all of them. That, the Government will undoubtedly seek to encourage.