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Marine and Coastal Access Bill [HL]

As I mentioned before the break, my amendments in this group strengthen slightly the consultation requirements on Natural England when preparing its report. My first two amendments probe the consultation with those with a relevant interest in the land. We have talked about the definition of that. Given the rather tighter definition of relevant interest that the Government insist on in the Bill, as opposed to the CROW Act, the number of consultees will not necessarily be as high. I should like some assurances that Natural England will do all that it can to seek out the views of those who are not large landowners or are not plugged into national or even local organisations so that they are involved in the development of the legislation. They may not even know about the development of this route and will certainly not know that they need to keep an eye out for what is proposed by Natural England. National and local organisations will also be important. The briefings that Peers on all sides have received from some of them show how useful they can be in identifying the concerns of both potential users and those who will be affected. To ignore them would be a big mistake. My third amendment would ensure that they, too, are consulted properly during the preparatory stages. I beg to move.