Marine and Coastal Access Bill [Lords]

I welcome you, Mr. Speaker, to the Chair on the occasion of these august proceedings. It is an apt debate for you to join us on, because—as has already been pointed out—this is a once in a lifetime opportunity and a historic Bill. Those phrases are often over-used, but it is true in this case. This is the first Bill over whose Second Reading you have presided and, if we get it right, it will be a landmark not only for this place, but for this country, Europe and the rest of world. We will lead the way in marine management for future generations. I am fortunate, and I know that the Under-Secretary of State for Scotland, my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow, North (Ann McKechin), and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State feel fortunate too, to inherit this Bill from a succession of very able Ministers, many of whom have spoken in this debate today. They have advocated this approach, and we are fortunate in being able to take it on to the next stage. I am pleased to follow the hon. Member for Newbury (Mr. Benyon), who has taken a constructive approach. We saw the same in the other place, and that is how we will make progress. We need to focus on the important issues that will refine, improve and strengthen the Bill. A strong Bill went into the other place, and an even stronger one has come out of it. There may be more that we can do, but we will discuss that in Committee. I am tempted to say "Thank the Lord" that we have reached this position. I am excited that the Bill will have its Second Reading tonight and look forward to the Committee stage. Perhaps I should say "Thank the Lords", but I am not supposed to refer to them in that way, so I shall just say thanks to the other place. Thanks to its work, we have a stronger and clearer general objective for the marine management organisation in relation to sustainable development, its use of science and other evidence to underpin decision-making, and its relationship with the Infrastructure Planning Commission. We also have additional provisions for parliamentary scrutiny with new duties on Ministers to report on marine planning progress; to make a statement to Parliament on principles to be followed in implementing the duty to contribute to a network of marine conservation sites; and to lay sustainable development guidance for the MMO before Parliament, which is where it should be. We also have a requirement on Government to publish a sustainability appraisal of the marine documents, a clearer description of roles for local authorities in marine licensing and coastal access, a clearer duty to designate marine conservation zones, the introduction of a 12-month time limit to designation once intention has been published, and the addition of reckless damage into general offences. Finally, and not least—as has been remarked—we have the addition of the procedure for making objections and representations about coastal access reports. The hon. Member for Arundel and South Downs (Nick Herbert) mentioned delay, but after a long period of pre-legislative scrutiny, we now have a very good Bill. He referred to the links with the Infrastructure Planning Commission and his objections to that body as it stands. The Bill and the Planning Act 2008 have been developed in parallel, and the roles of the marine management organisation and the IPC are complementary. The marine management organisation will license most projects and developments in English territorial and UK offshore waters, which include marinas, coastal habitat creation, aggregate dredging and renewable energy installations. The IPC, as set out in the Planning Act 2008, will consider applications for "nationally significant" infrastructure projects. In the marine area, that means the largest ports and renewable energy installations that will generate more than 100 MW of power. When the IPC is the consenting authority, the MMO will lend its expertise through the IPC and will act in a close advisory role on the marine aspects of each project. After consent has been given the MMO will monitor and enforce those consent conditions. As the Bill went through the other place, we considered that relationship and, although we need to bolt it down, I think that we have done that very effectively. The Government listened very closely to the debates in the other place on the relationship between the two bodies and agreed to reflect in primary legislation the important role that the MMO will have in applications for development consent by bringing forward amendments to the Planning Act 2008. So, as the hon. Member for Arundel and South Downs remarked, we have been a listening Government and we have acted on many of these parts of the Bill. Several hon. Members remarked on aspects of socio-economic criteria in site designation. Marine conservation zone site proposals will be based on scientific evidence and the scientific evidence will be the first consideration in the designation of each site. There will obviously be some cases in which the need for conservation must prevail, but there will be other cases where we have options, particularly when designating representative sites. We might have more choice of potential locations and about the size and shape of the marine conservation zones. In such circumstances, it would be sensible and appropriate to be able to take account of socio-economic considerations in deciding where a site or a group of sites should be designated. We would be shooting ourselves in the foot if we did not take reasonable steps to minimise the impact of MCZs on what, as has rightly been pointed out, could be vital economic activity or could be vital to our energy needs—especially if we can do so while still achieving our conservation objectives. Let me turn to the issue of ecologically coherent networks. Ministers in the other place and I have repeatedly made it clear that we intend to subscribe to those networks. The Government are fully committed to contributing to an ecologically coherent network. We have included three core principles in clause 123(3) that set out the basis of the UK network. They are based on the definition of ecological coherence developed for OSPAR, the convention for the protection of the marine environment of the north-east Atlantic. Let me give the House the three underpinning principles from OSPAR which ensure that we will deliver that ecologically coherent network. The first is that it should contribute to the conservation of the marine environment, the second is that it should protect features that represent a range of features present in the UK marine area and the third is that it should reflect the fact that conservation of a feature may require more than one site to be designated. Those are the principles. The definition of an ecologically coherent network, as we all know, can vary all the time. There might be a better version as time goes by. We might need to improve it. Let us not come back to primary legislation to do that—let us put the principles in, deal with them and then move on. The commitment in clause 123(3), alongside the requirement to satisfy our European and international commitments, as found in clause 124(4), and the clear duty to designate marine conservation zones effectively enables the Government to deliver a network that is ecologically coherent. However, let me go further. To ensure transparency in the principles that we will use to design the network and further to demonstrate the Government's commitment, we amended the Bill on Third Reading in the other place to insert clause 123(6) and (7). Those subsections require the appropriate authority—Scottish and Welsh Ministers and the Secretary of State—to lay a statement before the relevant legislature, setting out the principles that it will follow in designating areas so as to contribute to that network. Statements might also include other matters that the relevant Minister considers to be relevant. The statement must be made within two months of the commencement of the Bill's nature conservation provisions, must be kept under review and must be updated if necessary. Those safeguards will allow us to take the concept forward as it evolves, and make sure that we report back so that people can hear about what we are delivering. In the other place, Lord Eden of Winton summed this up very well when he said:""It is important that the legislation should contain sufficient flexibility to allow improvements to be generated as further knowledge is gained from the experience of the establishment of marine conservation zones."—[Official Report, House of Lords, 8 June 2009; Vol. 711, c. 435.]" I turn now to aspects of the Bill mentioned by other hon. Members. The hon. Member for Arundel and South Downs and others raised the involvement of local authorities in the designation and implementation of the coastal path. The Government's intention has always been to involve local authorities fully in many aspects of the Bill. We see them as extremely important partners, not least in the coastal access project. Following the constructive discussions that we had in the other place, we have amended the Bill to make that clear. We believe that the English coastal access authorities—defined in the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 as the local highway authority, or the national park authority in a national park—are best placed to manage many aspects of the local implementation. They include consulting local interests, contacting and discussing options with landowners, and managing the work required. Where those authorities are willing and able to act, they will be fully involved in the implementation of these proposals. My right hon. Friend the Member for Scunthorpe (Mr. Morley) made a very constructive contribution. I pay tribute to him for his work, just as he paid tribute to the work that this Government have done in bringing forward the Bill. We need to take account of socioeconomics, but we have to get the balance right. We know the expectations that exist outside the House, but we have to deliver what the Bill proposes. We must deliver sustainability in the seas and conservation, but the Bill is also about securing sustainable livelihoods. I am looking forward to teasing out that balance in Committee. My right hon. Friend the Member for Scunthorpe asked about the general objectives and responses of the proposed MMO. He called for further changes to its objectives, but the Bill as a whole is designed to put in place better systems for delivering the sustainable development of the marine and coastal environment. The MMO will be the Government's strategic delivery body in the marine area, and will be required to have regard to all aspects of sustainable development in carrying out its responsibilities. I join the hon. Member for St. Ives (Andrew George) in paying tribute to the work of the lifeguard and emergency services in the recent incident to which he referred, but we must never forget what they do every day and every week. Fishermen are part of the solution as well as the challenge that we face. The Bill is predicated on bringing people with us so that they own the solution and play their part in solving some of the challenges. In respect of two-tier marine conservation zones with highly protected areas, the Government expect that there will be highly protected areas in the MCZs. However, there will be other areas in which the wide variety of interests can be represented. What we do not want is to have super-duper versions called "highly protected areas" and others that are not as good. All the MCZs will be important, and will contribute to the ecologically coherent network. My hon. Friend the Member for Gower (Mr. Caton) made some valid points about ecologically coherent networks, socioeconomics and the sea fisheries defence. That latter point, which was also raised by other hon. Members, is something that we will return to in Committee. He also referred to seascapes, another matter that I am sure will come up in Committee. Seascapes are mentioned in the high-level marine objectives that were published earlier in the year, and they will be covered by the marine policy statement. Moreover, locally important seascapes can be recognised in marine plans. The hon. Member for Gosport (Sir Peter Viggers) spoke about co-ordination across boundaries. He was absolutely right and, as we go into Committee, I can assure him that we have the right structures to deal with Wales, Scotland and so on. Many other hon. Members made valuable contributions in what was a passionate and well informed debate. I am looking forward to our deliberations in Committee: the Bill has already been improved significantly, but it will become better still in the next stage of discussion. Question put and agreed to. Bill accordingly read a Second time.