Clause 317
Marine and Coastal Access Bill [Lords]
12:00 pm
Richard Benyon (Shadow Minister, Environment, Food & Rural Affairs; Newbury, Conservative)
I suspect that the Minister’s contentment in thinking that the Government are on target is a very optimistic state of affairs indeed. The MFA has very serious morale problems. My understanding is that very few staff have indicated thus far that they are willing to go. My concern is not only for them, but for the integrity of the new organisation, which must hit the ground running. We have a short time scale, and it is important that we transfer as much expertise as possible from the MFA to the MMO. It is a worry if we cannot guarantee that we can get there. Will the Minister give us more assurances that he will engage with those people and give the ones whom we want to transfer an incentive to join the new organisation?