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Broads Authority Bill

My Lords, I declare a non-financial interest as a past boat owner for 30 years. Noble Lords who were here for Second Reading may be surprised to see that the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Norwich, who so eloquently moved the Motion at Second Reading, is not here today. I am sorry, but he is tied up with other episcopal duties. I am sure that he would want to say that he wishes the Bill godspeed. The Bill’s main purpose is to obtain new powers for the authority to improve safety for those boating on the Broads. The need for additional powers has been highlighted by the requirements of the port marine safety code and specific incidents, including a tragic drowning in the Broads. The Broads are safe but, even so, two or sometimes three deaths occur on average a year on its 120 miles of waterway, compared with six or so on the 2,200 miles of canals. The Bill therefore includes licensing pleasure boats, compulsory third-party insurance and inspections to avoid fire and explosions. The responsibility for Breydon Water, the closed inland estuary of Great Yarmouth and the most dangerous stretch of water, with 50 or so groundings a year, will transfer with mutual agreement from the Great Yarmouth Port Company to the Broads Authority, which currently patrols it. The Bill contains sensible provisions that regulate waterskiing and wakeboarding. It also contains some constitutional and administrative provisions that are intended to enhance the authority’s effective operation. The Bill has been subject to detailed scrutiny in both Houses, most recently in Select Committee proceedings so ably chaired by my noble friend Lord Berkeley. I am sorry that he cannot be here today—he sends his apologies to me and to the House—but I am pleased to see the noble Lord, Lord Trimble, in his place, and I understand that both he and the noble Lord, Lord Walpole, may speak in the gap. The petitions of 12 members of the public and one organisation, the Norfolk Association of Local Councils, were closely examined by the committee. Having heard all the evidence, the committee concluded that the Bill should proceed, subject to the insertion of the words "reasonable" or "reasonably" at appropriate places, mainly with reference to fees. The committee made a few additional comments. It suggested that the authority might look at introducing an equivalent to SORN—the statutory off-road notification for cars—for boats, so that boats under repair on application would not be liable to pay a toll. Officers of the authority support this idea in principle, and a report examining appropriate criteria will be presented to the authority for its members in the near future. The committee asked the authority to consider the relationship between the Broads Authority, as duty holder under the port marine safety code, and the head of waterways, strategy and safety as the designated person. This should clarify lines of responsibility. The authority’s safety management system has been modified to make the relationship clearer, and the authority’s navigation committee has been consulted on the revised document. The same report will go before the next meeting of the Broads Authority at the end of this month. Finally, the committee welcomed the statement on behalf of the authority that the information about the depth of water on the Broads will be published on its website. Work is under way to achieve this. This is highly desirable, given the silt that pours into the Broads and the constant dredging that is needed to ensure navigation. The Broads Authority has garnered wide support for the Bill, including from the Government. No local authority and no boating, angling or amenity bodies have petitioned against it. The authority reached agreement with the Norfolk Broads Yacht Club, the one boating organisation to petition about Wroxham Broad, such that the club withdrew its petition before the Lords committee started. The petitioners who came to the committee were for the most part—the noble Lord, Lord Trimble, can speak on this better than I can—experienced sailors who felt that the safety provisions in the Bill, particularly general directions, had the potential to hamper their sailing. The Bill provides checks and balances, including a thorough consultation process prior to the implementation of a general direction, which have satisfied the national boating organisations. Compulsory third-party insurance and better management of activities such as waterskiing are a benefit even for the experienced sailor. But the Bill will help to improve the safety above all for the thousands of inexperienced visitors enjoying the Broads for the first time and, importantly, introduces the licensing of hired craft across the whole of the Broads. My noble friend Lord Davies will doubtless confirm this. The authority’s local accountability has been extensively debated during the Bill’s progress through both Houses. Whatever the merits of introducing institutional reform, this is not a matter for the Bill, but I should like to say a word or two on the subject. There are two strands to the debate. Some people are arguing for direct elections to the authority. It is worth noting that at the moment nine of the authority’s 21 members are elected to the eight constituent county and district local authorities, so there is that degree of local accountability, although that is indirect. The vice-chair of the Broads Authority and its chair of planning are also elected local councillors. The Government have consulted on the principle of direct elections to the national park authorities and the Broads Authority. Their response is expected before the Summer Recess, but I understand from a Written Answer to Norman Lamb MP—my noble friend may be in a better position to confirm this—that there is no immediate intention to proceed with direct elections. The Government have also consulted on whether the Broads Authority’s membership should include parish councillors. Some respondents have argued that parish councils should send directly elected members to the Broads Authority. Others have argued that they should be two of the Secretary of State’s 10 nominees. The noble Baroness, Lady Shephard of Northwold, eloquently argued for the need to address the issues associated with the perceived democratic deficit. Two difficulties present themselves: first, the other interests would clearly be unhappy to see their representation reduced; and, secondly, of the 93 parishes that have part of their territory within the Broads, not one parish, I understand, is wholly contained within the Broads. There might therefore be a perfectly proper debate about who would represent whom, given the very localness, which is their virtue, of parish councils. Several respondents suggested that local government reorganisation may enable parish members to be incorporated without increasing the size of the authority. However, there is another option. Behind the Broads Authority stands the Broads Forum. It has 25 members and, much more than the authority, it embodies local Norfolk interests, such as the Broads Reed and Sedge Cutters Association, the How Hill Trust, the Norfolk Windmills Trust and the Norfolk Wherry Trust. Its chairman attends the Broads Authority and reports on the forum’s views on key issues. Among its 25 members, the forum includes two members who represent the northern and the southern local councils; that is, the parish councils. from Norfolk and Suffolk. I sympathise with some of the concerns expressed by the noble Baroness, Lady Shephard, at Second Reading, about the democratic deficit at its most local level. I suggest—and I gather that this might be acceptable—that the two members on the Broads Forum should be beefed up to four members, so that they would become the largest group on the forum, along with the boating groups. The chair of the forum is independent, is appointed by the Broads Authority and sits on that authority. I see no reason why a future chair should not be appointed with this consideration also in mind. However, that would be a matter for future discussion with the Broads Authority and with the forum. If the minutes of the forum, along with the views of members of the strengthened parish councils, were both received by the Broads Authority and, if necessary, spoken to by the forum’s chair, this might be an appropriate way forward. It may not go as far as the noble Baroness would like, but she might regard it as a useful compromise between differing views. The Boundary Committee is due in July to make its next announcements on the recommendations on the future shape of local government in Norfolk and Suffolk. The authority is of the view that further formal consideration of its membership, apart from the forum, should await the outcome of that process. However, the authority is keen to look at ways of improving engagement with local interests. I am happy to report that, at the beginning of this week, the chief executive of the Broads Authority met the Minister and representatives of the national park authorities to examine what examples of best practice it might adopt in engaging with local authorities. We shall have to see how this progresses. Finally, I refer to concerns that the Bill is not necessary, that the level of consultation prior to its deposit was inadequate and that the costs of administration will be considerable. These matters were all aired before both the Commons committee and the Lords committee, and the Broads Authority was able to demonstrate that the provisions of the Bill are necessary and are conducive to safety, remembering that most Broads users are inexperienced. It was also able to show that widespread consultation took place before the Bill was deposited—I have looked at that, and there seems to have been heaps of consultation—and that its implementation will not lead to a large increase in administrative overheads. It is also clear that the Bill is necessary, because the powers that it has identified could not be provided wholly by by-laws or by harbour revision orders. This is an important Bill for all those who use and enjoy the wonderful Broads—and many devotees are in the House this evening—which are one of the most important assets of Norfolk and Suffolk. I commend the Bill to the House.