---

Marine and Coastal Access Bill [HL]

Perhaps I can respond in kind. I frequently find that I have the effect of creating consensus around the House. I very much welcome a debate with the noble Lord and other noble Lords. I am not sure whether it is courageous to do so—and one always worries about that at the Dispatch Box—but I accept that Clause 2 as it appears does not convey the critical role of the MMO, as noble Lords would wish. All I ask the noble Lord to accept is that it is a real challenge to come up with a sensible clause that does not involve the problem of lists. Noble Lords may feel that that is one of the Government’s negative responses to these matters, but there is genuine concern that what you omit from a list is in some ways excluded or downgraded. Given the need for this legislation to last for many years to come, one has to be very careful about that.