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Broads Authority Bill (By Order)

I do not dispute that; none the less, this democratic body reached the decision that I described. The hon. Members for Mid-Norfolk and for North Norfolk spoke about draconian powers, especially in the context of byelaws and the common law right to navigate freely. Of course such a freedom exists in common law, but it is legitimate for Parliament to legislate to restrict that right when it considers it appropriate, especially when it is necessary for the reasons of public safety that we have discussed this afternoon. It is accepted that legislation should provide for imposing limits, making regulations and so on. That happens frequently with the roads, and there is no reason for it not to happen on the broads. My hon. Friend the Member for Derby, North (Mr. Laxton) expressed his astonishment at the lack of safety enforcement powers. He made well the point that it is not draconian to have third-party insurance, to license craft or to insist on a boat safety system. It is right for the Broads Authority to have the powers to enforce that. The hon. Member for South-East Cambridgeshire (Mr. Paice), like other hon. Members, raised the separate navigation account. He believed that such an account would ensure transparency, and ensure that all navigation income was spent only on navigation. I do not believe that we need a separate account to ensure that all navigation income is spent on navigation alone, but we all agree that it must be made absolutely clear and transparent that that should be the case. In passing, I also note that the safeguard of the navigation account was originally conceived for the benefit of non-boaters as much as for that of boaters. Clearly, some people wanted to be sure that boating was not being subsidised by rate payers. The hon. Member for Mid-Norfolk raised the financial consequences of implementing the Bill. My right hon. Friend the Member for Cardiff, South and Penarth identified £100,000 of the £1.5 million largesse for precisely this purpose, so the cost will not come out of the annualised grant that is the authority’s share of the national parks family pot. The hon. Member for Mid-Norfolk also referred to newly acquired planning powers. In relation to the authority, the planning service, which was previously carried out by other local authorities, has been brought back in-house, but the Broads Authority has always had the responsibility for planning. The reference may simply have been a slip of the tongue, but I thought it important to correct that. My hon. Friend the Member for Waveney referred to my visit to Oulton broad and Bungay in his constituency some months ago. I had a most enjoyable day, and came away with not only a better understanding of navigation and dredging than perhaps I had wished for hitherto, but an enormous respect for his detailed interest in and understanding of those matters. He has a compendious knowledge of dredging. In relation to funding, it is important for him to understand that we believe that navigation income must equal navigation expenditure. My hon. Friend the Member for Waveney asked specifically, as did several other Members, about consideration for funding for dredging alongside the share of the national parks pot to which I referred, much in line with the £1.5 million made available over the past three years. There is a case for dredging that is done for environmental benefits and biodiversity, and it is essential that we consider that. I am happy to give the commitment asked of me to the extent that, as part of the future comprehensive spending review round, we will consider separately the funding of dredging for environmental purposes and dredging for navigation purposes, which must be paid for from navigation income. We recognise, of course, that dredging for environmental purposes may have a beneficial effect on navigation, but we would look to do it for environmental purposes in the first instance. My hon. Friend the Member for Waveney also asked about the waste framework directive, the treatment of such dredgings as waste and the increasing costs that that imposes. We all recognise that the cost of dredging, disposal and recovery has increased by an average of about 50 per cent., and that of dredging and disposal at landfill by 235 per cent. over the past four years. That is why navigation authorities consider both the economic and environmental benefits when carrying out dredging. A body under the august title of the wet dredgings group—[Interruption.] I was sure that someone would ask me whether we have a dry dredgings group, and I am afraid that I do not know the answer to that question. The wet dredgings group, however, has been considering the issue. I have asked that it report to me and the Minister with responsibility for waste, my hon. Friend the Minister for Local Environment, Marine and Animal Welfare, by the end of next month. An informal consultation on proposals for exemptions from the waste management regime is ongoing. It will run until 8 June this year, and we may be able to make a clearer statement after that. The hon. Member for North-West Norfolk raised the issue of Breydon Water and the lower Bure, and the agreement with Great Yarmouth port authority. We hope that a clause will be inserted in Committee providing for the authority not to set a date for taking over responsibility without written consent from the port authority.