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Marine and Coastal Access Bill [HL]

My Lords, I am not sure I can entirely follow the hypothetical case that the noble Duke, the Duke of Montrose, has set out, nor indeed where the Scottish Parliament might get some powers from a European source to insist on an Order in Council. Undoubtedly, the designation of boundaries has a capacity for controversy. When the Scottish Parliament was established just 10 years ago, I well recall that one of the first orders we had to pass, which had previously been passed in this Parliament, was to determine the boundary between Scotland and England for devolution of fisheries matters. They took a line, which went at an angle from where the Scotland/England boundary hits the coast just north of Berwick-upon-Tweed. That was contested by many Members of the Scottish Parliament, including those of my own party. Indeed, the first rebellion of my Back-Benchers was on that occasion, and we narrowly won the vote. Therefore, the issue is not without controversy. However, there are certain advantages and certainty with a boundary that is set rather than one that continually flows back and forth; although I noted in an edition of the Economist last month that because of melting glaciers in the Alps the boundary between Italy and Switzerland is on the move. I do not think that anyone is suggesting that there is a similar sort of geological change here, but I cannot honestly be persuaded by the case made by the noble Duke, although undoubtedly these are sensitive issues.