Clause 45
Marine and Coastal Access Bill [Lords]
11:45 am
Andrew George (St Ives, Liberal Democrat)
I do not intend to detain the Committee long. My reading of subsections (1) and (3) is that there is a potential conflict between them. They also effectively allow the Secretary of State to overrule his compatriots in the devolved Administrations if he or she fails to come to an agreement with them when, initially at least, preparing marine policy statements. There are some important issues here, particularly regarding migratory fauna and other species, where a devolved Administration will clearly have an interest in what the Secretary of State is capable of doing in the waters within their own jurisdiction. For that reason, I seek the Minister’s reassurance that there is an acknowledgement that the Secretary of State has, in effect, an overruling power in that regard. That is irrespective of how carefully the clause is worded, and of the fact that subsection (2) states that the Secretary of State must at least show that they have consulted “the other policy authorities” during the process of any amendment to the MPS.
The scenario I am painting is that the Secretary of State will come to an agreement with “the other policy authorities” to bring forward a plan on which there is agreement. Shortly thereafter, however, having failed to persuade those other policy authorities of his or her views on the matter, the Secretary of State will simply bring forward an alternative policy statement and ignore the consultation process.
I am grateful to you, Mr. Gale, for allowing me to raise this issue and I look forward to hearing the Minister’s response.