Clause 197
Marine and Coastal Access Bill [Lords]
12:45 pm
Huw Irranca-Davies (Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Marine and Natural Environment), Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; Ogmore, Labour)
I reiterate that this is not a new problem. The issues that arose out of the Menai strait case have been articulated loudly and publicly. Furthermore, our Department and the Welsh Assembly Government have been engaged with all stakeholders for quite some time. The point that we have come to today in this Committee is that we have a package of amendments that might not have been subject to detailed scrutiny by stakeholders during the three-month consultation period, or whatever, but the fundamentals of what we are debating today have been aired in many different contexts.
Therefore, we have the opportunity here—we do not often have a legislative vehicle that allows us to take such an opportunity—to put through a package of measures. I will discuss the detail of the amendments, which may give the hon. Gentleman the assurance that he is looking for that this is the right package that will give the certainty to shellfisheries as a whole across the UK that there is a way forward, to get those consents up and running again and to give shellfisheries the long-term certainty that they can invest in sustainable shellfishing around the UK. I will explain how the concerns of shellfisheries will be addressed.
Government amendments 56, 57 and 62 amend the Sea Fisheries (Shellfish) Act 1967 to remove the need for consent of the Crown estate or the duchies to be given before an order affecting any part of the sea shore that is owned by them can be granted. Removing that requirement will give the Secretary of State the power to grant shellfish orders without Crown consent.