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Marine and Coastal Access Bill [HL]

I am grateful to the noble Baroness for tabling the amendments. The most important is the first in the group. Amendment 85B would insert a duty on the Secretary of State and the policy authorities to produce the marine policy statement, rather than leaving it open as an option—although I am sure that that is not the Government’s intention. There is a strong possibility that disagreements and confusions will arise between the policy authorities when agreeing the UK marine policy statement, and any delay will presumably knock on to other critical parts of the Bill. So much cannot be done without the policy statement: plans cannot be produced, development cannot be authorised and conservation zones cannot be designated. Later amendments will give us the opportunity to explore the detail of the MPS procedure, particularly the possibility of disagreement or derogation from the plans. At the moment, though, I shall focus on the possibility of early failure. It is clear that an MPS involving all the policy authorities acting jointly, as Clause 43(1)(a) makes possible, would be by far the best option, but the possibility of one or more authority taking their own route must be considered. My amendment in this group seeks to probe just what attempts the Secretary of State must make to ensure agreement. The term ““invited”” in subsection (2) is very vague. At what point is the decision made that a joint MPS is not possible? I look forward to hearing from the Minister what stage the Government are at in the MPS’s development. Are they developing it together with the other authorities, or are they on their own at the moment, hoping that the others will sign up to it later on? I see no reason why this process cannot be started now, as it involves the Secretary of State, the Scottish and Welsh Ministers and the Department of Environment in Northern Ireland. How much time will the Government take to overcome disagreements between authorities? The Government have expressed their hope that the marine policy statement will be complete within two years of Royal Assent. Will that be postponed if agreement is hard to come by, or will they carry on regardless on their own?