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Marine and Coastal Access Bill [HL]

The noble Duke is berating me for missing out the importance of coal. I apologise to him. I am well aware of its importance. On biodiversity, the simple and straightforward answer is that, although we do not use the wording used by the noble Lord, we believe that we have covered the matter in the Bill. In Clause 121, there is a duty on public bodies, including those in the Scottish offshore area, to further the conservation objectives of designated sites. Moreover, public authorities must have regard to advice from the statutory conservation body, which, for the offshore region, is the Joint Nature Conservation Committee. Further than that, sustainable development and the vital place that conservation occupies in our suite of marine policies are captured in the marine policy statement under Clause 42 and in marine plans under Clause 49. Those documents will clearly set out how our policies will contribute to achieving sustainable development and how we intend to treat fragile, rare and representative parts of our marine environment and to further the conservation of biodiversity. They will also steer the marine licensing process that is subject to Part 4 of the Bill—we might get to it one day—under which decisions must be made in accordance with the marine policy statement and with marine plans. Through that mechanism, the Bill will ensure that all decision-makers in the marine environment have to consider biodiversity in making their decisions. I hope that I have, in general, reassured the noble Lord that it is quite within the competence of the Scottish Parliament to hold Scottish Ministers to account for their actions under executive devolution.