Marine and Coastal Access Bill [Lords]

I beg to move, That the Bill be now read a Second time. For many centuries, our nation has been defined by its relationship with the sea. Although we may no longer seek to rule the waves, our island heritage remains a source of great pride. Our seas and our coasts and their waters are a source of so much: they give us food; they support jobs; they enable us to travel and to create energy; they help us to regulate our changing climate; they give us the chance to sail or to swim or to dive and catch a glimpse of what lies beneath the surface. Our seas inspire us, from the mirror-glass stillness of a calm day to the fearsome rage of a storm. John F. Kennedy put it like this:""All of us have in our veins the exact same percentage of salt that exists in the ocean... We have salt in our blood, in our sweat, in our tears. We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea, we are going back from whence we came."" How very true—and yet for many years we have taken all of this for granted. The House knows that we cannot do so any more. If we wish to ensure that future generations can continue to enjoy these riches, we must recognise the pressures that humankind has put on our seas and take the steps needed to create healthier, more productive and more biologically diverse waters. That is what this Bill aims to do. I cannot let this moment pass without thanking all the people without whose passion, commitment and sheer determination I would not be standing here today moving the Bill's Second Reading. I acknowledge the hon. Member for Uxbridge (Mr. Randall), who has campaigned for this Bill for many years. I also acknowledge the hon. Member for Brecon and Radnorshire (Mr. Williams), my hon. Friends the Members for Sherwood (Paddy Tipping) and for Reading, West (Martin Salter), and the hon. Member for St. Ives (Andrew George). I thank the former DEFRA Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Chatham and Aylesford (Jonathan Shaw), who it is good to see in his place today, and the Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Ogmore (Huw Irranca-Davies), who has done so much work to get the Bill before us today. I also thank the Joint Committee, which under the chairmanship of Lord Greenway carried out pre-legislative scrutiny, and the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, which under the chairmanship of the right hon. Member for Fylde (Mr. Jack) examined the Bill's coastal access provisions. Perhaps most important of all, in adding to that august list, I wish to thank the 15,000 organisations and members of the public who responded to our consultation, and the many more who have wanted this Bill for a long time and would not rest until it came to pass.