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Marine and Coastal Access Bill [HL]

I hear the noble Baroness’s anxiety on this point and we all know with what authority she speaks. I am not suggesting for one moment that the Environment Agency has an easy role in fulfilling the ambition I was seeking to share with the noble Baroness, Lady Miller. She introduced her amendment by saying that she was concerned about water quality, and so we all should be. I wanted to indicate that the Bill will not interfere with the Environment Agency’s responsibilities or powers in those terms. As for the putative clash between members of the Davies family in your Lordships’ House, the noble Baroness will have to postpone that position until another day when the noble Lord, Lord Davies of Coity, is present to challenge me. On the earlier Amendment 64A, I emphasise that the purpose of Clause 15 is to enable the MMO, with the approval of the Secretary of State, to make agreements with any bodies listed in Clause 16, authorising them to undertake functions on the MMO’s behalf. If they are doing that, then of course it is likely that the MMO—I am not quite sure of the precise phrase the noble Baroness used—will be the prime mover or initiator of the discussions, but that will be on the basis of co-operation and agreement. Those bodies include the Environment Agency, Natural England, local fisheries committees and the harbour authorities. This clause will enable the MMO to make arrangements for the most effective discharge of its functions, as those bodies may be better placed than it to carry out a function in a particular area. Nothing too malign should be read into the fact that the MMO may be taking the initiative. Let me show an example where it would be entirely proper for the MMO to do so. Under this Bill, the MMO is taking over the issuing of licences under the Conservation of Seals Act 1970. We have chosen this illustration with some care, as the noble Baroness will appreciate. While seals are primarily marine mammals, there are a few applications each year relating to seals in fresh waters. Since the MMO does not operate beyond the tidal reach, such applications will need to be dealt with by Natural England. That is the boundary issue we discussed on an earlier amendment. The function will therefore need to be transferred to that body by the MMO using the flexible arrangements that we are seeking to create in Clause 15. The MMO would be the initiator, but I am sure the noble Baroness will recognise that as an entirely constructive way to use those powers. I hope that her probing amendment has called forth a response that satisfies her enough to withdraw it.