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Welsh Zone (Boundaries and Transfer of Functions) Order 2010

I apologise for that and withdraw my remarks. I had turned the page, but missed it. We clearly had good negotiations with the other parties concerned—the Irish, the Northern Irish, the Isle of Man, Scotland and wherever. A sizeable chunk of our local seas—St George’s Channel and the Irish Sea—is the responsibility of Wales. From the beginning of proceedings on the Marine and Coastal Access Bill it was made clear that Welsh Assembly Ministers wished to take direct control of the management of this part of the sea fisheries of the United Kingdom. Given the scale of things, that seems to be eminently sensible. However, I have a few questions. First, what consultation is anticipated between Ministers of the Crown and Welsh Ministers in relation to the functions that are concurrently exercised? As I understand it, that includes areas directly beyond the Welsh zone up to the international zone between the limits of the UK and Ireland. Secondly, Article 6 provides that: ""Any provision of section 4 or 4A of the Sea Fish (Conservation) Act 1967 requiring the consent of the Treasury to the exercise of a function does not apply in relation to the exercise of the function by the Welsh Ministers"." Why is this? Thirdly, Article 8 provides that: ""Paragraph 1(1) of Schedule 4 to the Government of Wales Act"—" it relates to the transfer of property and so on— ""does not apply to any documentary or electronic records to which … a Minister of the Crown is entitled in connection with any function exercisable by the Minister of the Crown and transferred by this Order"." What arrangements, if any, will be put in place for access by Welsh Ministers to such records? Those are my key questions. In summary, this is an eminently well thought-out statutory instrument. I hope that the Welsh Assembly will take this on board—it is a big task, involving licensing of fishing boats, management of sea fisheries, protection and all sorts of things that come to us from Europe and central government. I am sure that Welsh Ministers will need support, we wish them good fortune in carrying out their responsibilities and I hope that they will get stuck in right away. I support the order.