Marine and Coastal Access Bill [HL]

My Lords, I shall move Amendment 2 and speak to the other amendments in this group, particularly Amendments 2 to 9. There was extensive discussion in Committee and on Report on the people and bodies likely to be interested in a marine licence application and the way in which they should be made aware of, or consulted on, these applications. The noble Lord, Lord Greaves, and the noble Baroness, Lady Hamwee, voiced the feeling that licensing authorities should have a duty to make local authorities aware of the marine licence applications that they would be likely to have an interest in. My noble friend Lord Hunt of Kings Heath gave assurances during those debates that relevant local authorities would always, as a matter of course, be made aware of such applications by a licensing authority. It is very much the standard practice now, as far as the Marine and Fisheries Agency activities are concerned. However, we agreed to reflect on the discussions which we had in the preceding stages of the Bill and to look again at the provision before we reached this point. Amendments 2 to 9 are a reflection of our further consideration. They provide that, where the activity is carried on wholly or partly in the area of a local authority, the licensing authority must give, or require the applicant to give, notice of the application to that local authority. This new requirement is in addition to the general requirement to publish notice to any interested persons, and I hope that it will be seen as meeting the anxieties that were expressed when we debated this at earlier stages. The amendments will have the effect that the requirement to give notice to the local authority applies even if notice has been published more widely under subsection (1). As with the existing requirement to publish, the licensing authority may either give notice to the local authority itself or require the applicant to do so. In practice, the licensing authority may decide to require the applicant to publish notice under subsection (1) but choose to give notice to the local authority itself. Alternatively, there might be circumstances in which the licensing authority would want notice to be given to the local authority in question even when notice of the application was not to publish more widely. One example of this might arise in licensing a burial to be conducted at sea. We believe that the amendments as drafted properly account for the democratic responsibility which elected local authorities have for their areas while maintaining an efficient and flexible method of bringing applications to the attention of all bodies likely to be interested in an application. However, the amendment does not reveal the full story of the close relationship that we intend the Marine Management Organisation to build with local authorities in coastal areas and which will be of the greatest importance to the delivery of much of the content of this Bill. We have heard adequate testimony both in Committee and on Report that there is a wealth of experience, expertise and local knowledge in coastal local authorities which the MMO will necessarily draw upon. In particular, local authorities will have a fundamental part to play in the development of marine plans in coastal areas, particularly in recognition of their continuing responsibility for granting development consents in the area between mean high water spring and low water mark. Their role in preparing shoreline and estuary management plans as well as being representatives of the local community on the development of marine plans from the earliest possible stage to help interpret terrestrial plans will be of very great importance. They will assist integration at the coast and enable local interests to be fully reflected in marine plans. All this is key to the success of the implementation of marine planning as we envisage. To this end, we are working with the Local Government Association’s special interest group on coastal issues to ensure that the processes we put in place enable this important level of involvement and participation for the MMO to work with local authorities. I hope that the House will feel that government Amendments 2 to 9 respond to the anxieties which have been expressed during the passage of the Bill. Amendment 10 relates to factors which licensing authorities must have regard to when making activities exempt from the need for a marine licence using the exemptions order-making powers under Clause 73. We had constructive discussions on this issue on Report, and there was general agreement that the power to make activities generally or conditionally exempt from the marine licensing regime should not undermine the purposes of the licensing regime itself; that is, to protect the environment and human health, and to prevent interference with legitimate uses of the sea while taking into account any other factors and authority it thinks relevant. In the light of the Government’s policy to this effect and in the wake of the clear agreement expressed across the House during our discussions on Report, we have tabled this amendment. It mirrors the wording used in Clause 68 and makes it a requirement in the Bill that all licensing authorities must have regard to these factors when deciding to make an order exempting activities from the need for a marine licence. I beg to move.