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Marine and Coastal Access Bill [HL]

I thank the noble Lord, Lord Wallace of Tankerness, for explaining his amendments. I was waiting with interest to hear him explain about the different courts and their jurisdictions in different areas. Can the noble Lord explain how there can be a difference in the treatment of reserved functions between inshore and offshore areas? This subject has interested me greatly since we started debating the Bill. The Minister will probably confirm that there are already more devolved powers in the offshore area than the noble Lord, Lord Wallace, has spoken of, because powers were devolved under the Electricity Act. This means that all renewable energy in the offshore area, as well as all electricity generation, including all transmission lines and interconnectors, are devolved—so if the Scots wish to keep all their electricity to themselves, they could almost cut it off at the border. We would like to hear the Minister’s reply on this matter.