Schedule 1
Marine and Coastal Access Bill [Lords]
1:15 pm
Hugo Swire (East Devon, Conservative)
I rise to support the amendment. I would have thought that the proposal was fairly uncontentious; indeed, I am rather surprised that such a measure is not in the Bill. If the MMO is to function properly, it must take into account all competing demands and certainly the development of green energy. I wonder whether I am losing the Minister’s attention, Mr. Gale—[Interruption.] Ah, the Under-Secretary of State for Scotland will respond to the debate, which just shows the importance of having two people. That is why we need a chief engineering advisor and a chief scientific advisor—in case one or the other is off.
Offshore technology of one sort of another will be in demand in a lot of the areas we are talking about. We have already touched on offshore wind farms and wave projects, and a good wave project down in Plymouth is being funded by the South West of England Regional Development Agency, as the hon. Member for Plymouth, Sutton will know. Such projects will require infrastructure and cabling—the energy must be brought onshore—but a chief scientific advisor is not necessarily the correct person to make judgments on those things. He would be well backed up by a chief engineering advisor, and the two people working together would cover almost every conceivable eventuality. The disciplines are different, and an engineering adviser would add to the MMO. I hope the Government will accept the amendment.