This is the briefing sent to Sir George by the Minister for Natural & Marine Environment, Wildlife & Rural Affairs.
MARINE & COASTAL ACCESS Bill: BRIEFING FOR MPs
The UK has one of the world's richest marine environments. As an island nation, the UK is responsible for a sea area over three times larger than our land area, including cold water corals and rocky reefs.
Our seas are home to a huge variety of plants and animals, containing 50 per cent of the UK's biodiversity. They are also home to activities vital to the UK's future and economy, from fishing and extracting aggregates to renewable energy and oil and gas. Our seas play a major role in shaping our climate and in sustaining life.
But it can be difficult to make the most of this vast resource and this is where the Marine and Coastal Access Bill comes in. The Bill will greatly improve the way that our seas are managed, and will help maximise the benefits we get from our marine environment. It addresses the whole management cycle from setting policy objectives to ensuring that what activities are permitted and that what people actually do is consistent with that policy. The Bill ensures that sustainable development is at the heart of marine management. It also provides the public with a route around the English coast for recreation on foot, which will allow people to appreciate and enjoy the beauty of our coastlines.
What is in the Bill?
The scope of the Bill is frankly enormous. Under it, the UK Government and the devolved administrations will set out our strategic objectives for the marine area in a Marine Policy Statement. It then allows for marine plans to be developed, giving marine users and communities the chance to shape the future direction of marine management, promote the most sustainable use of marine resources, and give businesses and others increased certainty. The Bill also supports the translation of marine plans into real life decisions through updating of the marine licensing system, to make it considerably simpler and easier to use. These changes will provide greater certainty about the outcome and timing for applicants for licences, and make it easier for licensing authorities to make decisions that are consistent with policy.
The Bill allows for the creation of marine conservation zones - new areas of marine protection to allow us to more effectively protect habitats and species which we consider of national importance. The new MCZs will exist alongside European sites (Special Areas of Conservation and Special Areas of Protection) to contribute to an ecologically coherent network of sites to help to halt the decline in biodiversity.
The Bill will improve our management of fisheries: better inshore fisheries management in England is also an important element of our marine vision. The Bill replaces Sea Fisheries Committees with Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authorities with responsibilities for managing sea fisheries in the inshore area, including a duty to protect the marine environment from the effects of sea fisheries exploitation. The Bill will extend and modernise the powers we have under the Sea Fisheries (Conservation) Act 1967 to manage sea fisheries for the conservation of fisheries resources and for the protection of the marine environment from the impact of fishing. The Bill also updates and streamlines the management regime for shellfisheries under the Sea Fisheries (Shellfish) Act 1967. And the Bill also provides new tools to allow the Environment Agency to manage our freshwater and migratory fisheries more effectively.
Having streamlined the way in which many marine activities are managed, the Bill also improves the way that these systems are enforced. It streamlines and simplifies inspection and investigation powers, and introduces a range of sanctions so enforcement authorities can take action that is more proportionate to the offence.
The Bill also introduces the Marine Management Organisation: it will be the Government's strategic delivery body in the marine area, and its centre of marine regulatory expertise. Brigading the marine planning, licensing and enforcement functions in one body will promote consistent end-to-end understanding and delivery of our marine objectives.
Finally, the Bill will open up many miles of English coastline for the enjoyment of millions through the creation of a coastal route around the English coast, plus areas of wider spreading room, for example beaches, dunes and cliffs, where it is appropriate to do so.
How did we get here and where is the Bill at the moment?
The Bill was introduced to the House of Lords on 4 December 2008 and is currently at Report stage. It had previously been published in draft (in April 2008) and scrutinised by a Joint Committee of both Houses chaired by Lord Greenway and by the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee.
Where can I find out more?
Additional information on the Bill plus draft guidance, policy papers, factsheets, history and more can be found on the Defra website at:
http://www.defra.gov.uklmarine/legislation/index.htm
Lobby points
The lobby on 13 May 2009 is focussed on the nature conservation provisions of the Bill. These points are expected to be debated at Lords Report on 12 May 2009.
1. The Bill needs a clear duty to designate marine conservation zones
• The Bill as introduced contained a power to designate marine conservation zones (in clause 113(1)) and a duty to exercise that power so as to contribute towards a network fulfilling certain conditions (clause 119(1)). These conditions form the principles for the basis of the UK ecologically coherent network (see point 2, below).
• However in Lords Committee, there was some debate about whether this duty was strong enough, and the Government has tabled an amendment to clarify the duty, which is due to be debated on 12 May. The new drafting of clause 119(1) clearly requires that in order to fulfil their duty, Ministers must exercise the power to designate Marine Conservation Zones set in clause 113. This new drafting also makes clear that the network must comprise multiple Marine Conservation Zones.
2. Marine conservation zones must contribute to an ecologically coherent network and must include highly protected areas
• We are fully committed to designating an ecologically coherent network of marine protected areas and believe that this is vital for the success of the Bill. We have now set out this commitment in our draft strategy Delivering Marine Conservation Zones and European Marine Sites published on 20 April 2009. The strategy provides an opportunity to set out how we intend to design the UK ecologically coherent network, going beyond what we can specify in the Bill. We are only just starting to understand what the UK network should look like and we do not want to pre-empt vital research that will help us develop greater knowledge of our seas.
• We have included three core principles that set out the basis for the UK ecologically coherent network. The conditions included in clause 119(3) are based on the definition of an ecologically coherent network developed for the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North East Atlantic (OSPAR). These principles require that the network should contribute to the conservation of the marine environment, protect features that represent a range of features present in the UK marine area and reflect the fact that conservation of a feature may require more than one site to be designated.
• Legislation must always use clear terminology to be effective. "Ecological coherence" is very difficult to define, is an evolving concept and means a number of different things to different people. The conditions set out in clause 119(3) are as far as we can go in clearly setting out ecological coherence within the Bill. We will however, look to reference the OSPAR principles for an ecologically coherent network within the explanatory notes of the Bill. The explanatory notes can be used by the courts where there is doubt about the meaning of legislation as they give further information and guidance on the intent of the provisions set out in the Bill.
• Highly protected sites: The Bill allows MCZs to be given the appropriate level of protection, without the need for sites to be categorised as either more ¬highly or less-highly protected. Such a distinction would overlook the fact that levels of restriction might change over time - for example, because the protected features in an MCZ are vulnerable only at certain times of the year, or in response to new information about their condition or conservation needs. We are also concerned that a two-tier approach could be confusing to sea-¬users and imply that less-highly protected sites are somehow less important or have less conservation value.
3. The Secretary of State should not take socio-economic impacts into account when designating marine conservation zones
• Clause 114 sets out the grounds for designation (conservation of marine flora or fauna, marine habitats or features of geological or geomorphological interest). It is implicit that the appropriate authority (the Secretary of State, Welsh Ministers or Scottish Ministers, as appropriate) must make such a decision based primarily on scientific evidence. It would not otherwise be exercising its duty in a reasonable way. Social and economic factors are optional, secondary considerations. Scientific evidence is likely to include scientific fact (such as observations of where certain species live) and the results of, for example, predictive models and expert judgement. This is particularly important where we wish to establish an MCZ for the recovery of a habitat or species - such a decision will probably have to be taken on the basis that protecting an area is likely to have the desired effects, taking into account what we know about comparable areas of the sea.
• We believe this underlying scientific foundation is the correct approach. We remain of the view, having carefully considered the points made during Lords Committee debates, that the consideration of social and economic factors should be an option open to the appropriate authority, and not a compulsory part of the process. Note, however, that proposals for designations will be accompanied by an impact assessment. Therefore, while the appropriate authority may elect to disregard the social and economic consequences of designation in particular cases, he/she will always do so in the knowledge of the likely consequences.
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Promoted by Tracey Kirk on behalf of Sir George Young both at 2 Church Close, Andover, Hants SP10 1DP 