Marine and Coastal Access Bill [HL]

My Lords, first, I warmly welcome the support of the noble Lord, Lord Greaves, for this government amendment. I welcome him back to his place. We missed him very much in the concluding stages on Report and it is good to see him looking so well. I know that the noble Earl, Lord Cathcart, and his noble friend have been concerned about the issue of the relationship between the MMO and the IPC and would prefer the MMO to be responsible for all consents in the offshore regime. We have disagreed on this matter. We believe that, for nationally significant infrastructure projects, it is right that the IPC should be responsible, but I hope that this amendment will provide some comfort to the noble Lords. Since it is likely that most offshore consents will still fall to the MMO, because they will lie below the threshold of 100 megawatts and less, the MMO will develop considerable expertise in this area. It is also worth pointing out that the MMO will then be responsible, even when the IPC has consented, for ensuring that conditions are met. The MMO can also, under certain circumstances, issue additional requirements. There should be no doubt that the MMO, in relation to the consent regime, will have a major role to play. We have also debated the general role of the MMO, and the noble Earl, Lord Cathcart, expressed concerns that the MMO was not going to be the champion of the sea, which was required. However, I think that the MMO is going to play a very substantive role. We have also made the role of the MMO much clearer, thanks to the debates in Committee, and we welcome the changes made at the beginning of the Bill in relation to that. I am confident that the MMO will have a very significant role to play and I am confident that this amendment will help it. The answer is no to the specific question that the noble Baroness, Lady Hamwee, raised. Other than that, I welcome the support given for the amendment. Amendment 1 agreed.