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Marine and Coastal Access Bill [HL]

My Lords, I had not intended to speak to this set of amendments, but as we have reached the Turks and Caicos Islands much more quickly than noble Lords might have expected, I shall take this opportunity to thank the noble Lord, Lord Saltaire, for raising some very interesting questions and proposing amendments which seek to extend the scope of the Bill to the oceans of the world; the Minister and his officials for the way in which they have facilitated a most productive Report stage; and indeed other noble Lords for their support. In particular, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Greaves, whose absence today has been noticed by us all and may account for the speed—but it may not be so; it cannot be so—with which we find ourselves here. I thank my noble friends on these Benches for playing their role. I shall be very interested in the Minister’s response to these amendments.