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Marine and Coastal Access Bill [HL]

I was coming to that. In my comments about local authorities, I was not suggesting for one moment that there was anything trivial about this situation; nor did I think that the noble Lord’s long absence from the Chamber while he was engaged elsewhere was due to trivial matters—far from it. However, I am seeking to defend the position in the Bill. I stress that that wording is in the Bill because we wish to emphasise that we are talking about one authority, which is a harbour authority. The noble Baroness introduced the concept of estuary authorities, which I do not deny are very important, but they are not harbour authorities and therefore do not relate to the situation that we seek to confront here. As we discussed earlier, Clause 15 enables the MMO, with the approval of the Secretary of State, to make agreements with the eligible bodies listed in Clause 16 to carry out functions on the MMO’s behalf. I hasten to add the obvious point that we are creating the MMO to carry out its own functions; we expect it largely to carry them out and there is no intention of transferring functions wholesale to others. The point of the Bill is to create the MMO with the powers that it needs. However, as we indicated in earlier debates, there will be occasions when, for reasons of resources, expertise or geographical remit, another body is better placed to perform a function on the MMO’s behalf. We seek to create a degree of flexibility, and the list of bodies includes harbour authorities. Clause 20 makes additional provision in relation to any agreement with a harbour authority where that harbour authority is also a local authority. Under the Local Government Act 2000 and subordinate legislation, each function of a principal local authority—and, by heavens, I appreciate that I may be in great danger of seeking to teach several noble Lords how to suck eggs, when they have deep expertise in this area—is administered either directly by the full council or through executive arrangements, depending on the function. The full council or executive—as applicable—of that authority may use various usual powers of delegation, for example to its committees or to the officers of that authority, to perform the function. Subsection (4) states that: "““‘Committee’ does not include a joint committee of two or more local authorities””." It refers to a committee of the harbour authority. Clause 20 allows delegation only to committees of the same authority. I emphasise that although Clause 15 gives the MMO the ability to enter into agreements with the bodies listed in Clause 16, it may do so only with the approval of the Secretary of State. The fact that a body is included in the list in Clause 16 does not mean that the MMO will inevitably delegate functions to it. I hasten to add that the purpose of the clause is to deal with the issue of the harbour authority and its proper right of delegation, not to raise the issue which the noble Baroness raised about more than one authority being involved, because that is not the power which is envisaged; nor does the deletion of subsection (4) materially affect that position. I do not pretend that that is good news for the noble Baroness, because I understand the representations that she is seeking to make, but that is what the Bill says. The Government are defending not only the policy underpinning the Bill but the actual lines in the Bill and what they mean in the Bill—which, after all, is what the noble Baroness is seeking to amend. I am sure that she will want to withdraw her amendment.