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Marine and Coastal Access Bill [HL]

I congratulate my noble friend Lady Miller on her great expertise on this subject. She has mapped everything relevant out for us. Some particular amendments before us, such as Amendment A140, very clearly spell out the consistency and meaning of ecosystems. To build on what the noble Baroness said, I should like to consider the situation in Wales. The existing designations for marine protected areas in Wales already cover 30 per cent of its sea area. The Welsh Assembly Government have confirmed that, in Wales, the MCZ designation will primarily be used to establish some highly protected sites, because the present protected zones are fractured in different parts of the Welsh coast. The Assembly aims to link them up into a network giving coherent protection around that coast so we will see a very great commitment to highly protected sites. The important matter is that the Bill, as far as Wales is concerned, enables the Assembly Government to support the creation of these highly protected MCZs. To this end, the amendments are considered very helpful by, for example, the Countryside Council for Wales, which advises the Assembly and is the equivalent of Natural England where Wales is concerned. The provisions for designating MCZs in Amendments A118, A133 and A140 are extremely helpful in enabling Ministers in the Welsh Assembly Government to complete the work with a substantial network of highly protected MCZs around the coast of Wales. I certainly fully support the amendments and believe that they are extremely constructive in ensuring the quality of the marine environment for the benefit of seawater quality, the seabed and all that live on it.