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Marine and Coastal Access Bill [HL]

I entirely agree with the latter point made by the noble Lord, Lord Taylor. I shall deal first with Amendment A342 and the question of whether the Secretary of State has the discretion to make such regulations. I assure the noble Lord, Lord Greaves, that the Secretary of State has every intention of making such regulations and for those regulations to be in place before the process of implementing the route begins. It is a "may/must", "shall/will" argument. There is no problem with the use of "may", but I hope that I have given the necessary assurance from the Dispatch Box on that matter. I will come to Amendments A343A, A344 to A346, A349 and A349A in a moment. Amendment A352 would add charities or organisations to the list of relevant interested bodies that must be notified of the Secretary of State’s determinations under new Section 55E(6). Amendment A358 would add a definition of a charity. Amendment A347, in the name of my noble friend Lord Judd, would add two organisations to the list of those to be consulted before the report is drawn up. As a general statement of intent, the provisions in the Bill are designed to provide a procedure that ensures that Natural England will consult a range of local interests before preparing a report on any proposed coastal route. The list of those who can make representations to Natural England on the coastal access report is limited to those who have a particular interest or role to play in the context of the area that will be affected. We have not listed non-governmental organisations as statutory consultees in any area of the Bill. Such lists quickly become out of date as the bodies to be consulted change over time, and amending primary legislation is not straightforward, as we all know. Moreover, there is always the problem that a list can be perceived as exclusive and capable of setting some stakeholders higher than others in influence. However, I hope that I can assure noble Lords that Natural England’s intentions are to consult as widely as possible. The Bill provides for regulations to be made specifying how its draft report is to be published and the manner in which representations may be made. On Amendment A346, spoken to by the noble Lord, Lord Greaves, and the listing of bodies, those bodies are set out in a number of regulations made under the CROW Act but are not listed in the Act itself. It is worth pointing out the bodies that must be consulted by Natural England before it prepares its report for the Secretary of State. I refer to Section 51(4) of the 1949 Act, which makes it clear that before preparing a report, Natural England must consult every national park authority, joint planning board and county district council through whose park or area the route passes. In addition, new Section 55D(4) requires Natural England to take a number of steps and to consult a number of bodies. That, I think, meets noble Lords’ requirements for wide consultation. I understand the point made by the noble Lord, Lord Greaves, about parish councils, but the point is that they have no direct responsibilities for access. However, although they are not listed, they will have an opportunity to comment if they wish. Indeed, that reflects the point raised by the noble Lord, Lord Taylor, about people and organisations which may not be listed anywhere but nevertheless still have a legitimate right to make representations. I would have thought that parish councils fall within that category. Amendment A350ZZA would require a provision that regulations may be made that include a requirement that representations should be made on the question of whether Natural England’s report fulfils the requirements of its coastal access duty in Sections 286 and 287. The Secretary of State will make a determination of Natural England’s report, and the fulfilment of these duties will be the principal issue that he has to consider. Amendment A350B would require the Secretary of State to notify persons with a relevant interest in affected land of his determination of Natural England’s report. I want to assure the noble Lord that the Secretary of State will do all he can to notify such persons. I understand and accept the point he raises, but it is unrealistic to expect him to notify everyone, and in certain circumstances it may be impossible to trace the owner of the land and thus fulfil his duty. However, we will ensure that every effort is made. Amendments A351A to A351C propose changes to the way in which the Secretary of State might publish his determination. I believe that the current provisions provide some flexibility for the Secretary of State and, in the circumstances, are appropriate. Any charity would already be notified if it was the owner of affected land, and I do not consider a change such as that proposed in A351D to be required. However, I understand that the point of these amendments is to ensure that the consultation process is as wide as possible; that Natural England takes account of all the views expressed; and that it makes every effort to engage with consultees and establish communications with persons with relevant interests. I understand that some of it is to do with the wording of the Bill, but it is also to do with the practice of Natural England. I can assure noble Lords that the sentiment behind these amendments will be drawn to Natural England’s attention. As I said, the Secretary of State, in making a determination on these duties, will have regard to the question of whether representations have been made and the way in which Natural England has dealt with them.