Clause 304
Marine and Coastal Access Bill [Lords]
11:15 am
Huw Irranca-Davies (Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Marine and Natural Environment), Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; Ogmore, Labour)
If I can start at the end, the hon. Member for Brecon and Radnorshire has asked about the difference between this discussion and one that we had previously. The difference is that the powers for the inclusion of matters were placed in the Bill after consultation with, and at the request of, the Welsh Assembly Government, who see this as a possibly useful way forward.
I will turn to the detailed points in a moment, because some of them refer to how the Welsh Assembly Government will introduce the necessary measures that underpin the matters inserted into the fields under the 2006 Act. Again, I risk reverting to my previous role, because the clause confers important new legislative competences—in parliamentary counsel terminology—on the National Assembly for Wales in relation to public access to and routes for the Welsh coast. It will add two new matters to field 16, sport and recreation, under schedule 5(1) to the Government of Wales Act 2006.
The first matter enables the National Assembly for Wales to bring forward a measure or measures for the establishment or maintenance of a route or routes on the coast of Wales to enable the public to make recreational journeys. The second matter enables the Assembly to make a measure or measures securing public access to relevant land for recreational purposes. Land will be “relevant” if it is at the coast or can be used in association with either land at the coast or a coastal route. I shall come on to the points raised by the hon. Member for Clwyd, West in a moment.
Those provisions are intended to add value to the Welsh Assembly Government’s existing coastal access improvement programme, which has worked well, by enabling the Assembly to clarify the extent of public access rights to the Welsh coast and secure new areas of land for public access, neither of which they can deliver through the existing coastal access improvement programme due to limitations on their powers.
I can confirm for the hon. Member for Clwyd, West that the Welsh Assembly Government briefing to which he referred, dated June 2009, is still valid and the issues still hold. That is a straight, “Yes”, in response to his query. As I mentioned in my preamble, the provisions are enabling powers that allow the WAG to decide the appropriate way to deal with islands. They may decide to limit access to islands, for example, but, under the Government of Wales Act 2006, we insert matters in the fields to allow the Assembly Government to bring forward measures, subject to consultation, so that they have the flexibility to take issues forward and that they are comfortable with that position.
The hon. Gentleman also raised the issue of railways and so on in list in the same document. I confirm that defence, railways and so on are reserved matters, so the briefing is still correct.