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31 Marine and Coastal Access Bill 26 OCTOBER 2009 32 [Lords] (Programme) (No. 2) [Huw Irranca-Davies] I pay tribute to the work of the Committee and all its members, who have done sterling work on a Bill that was already extremely good when it entered the other place. It is now an even better Bill and I hope that as a result of our deliberations today, it will become if not perfect then as near to perfect as we can make it. Mr. Speaker: I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman, who has moved the programme motion in what I might describe as an idiosyncratic manner. The House will not hold that against him. Question put and agreed to. Marine and Coastal Access Bill [Lords] [IST ALLOCATED DAY] [Relevant documents: Report from the Joint Committee on the Draft Marine Bill, Session 2007-08, HC 552-I and –II, and the Government response, Cm 7422. Ninth Report from the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, Session 2007-08, on the Draft Marine Bill: Coastal Access Provision, HC 656-I, and the Government response, Cm 7422.] Consideration of Bill, as amended in the Public Bill Committee New Clause 2 POWER TO ENTER INTO AGREEMENTS WITH ELIGIBLE BODIES ‘(1) The authority for an IFC district may, with the approval of the Secretary of State, enter into an agreement with an eligible body authorising the eligible body to perform any function of the IFC authority— (a) either in relation to the district or in relation to specified parts of that district; (b) subject to paragraph (a), either generally or in specified cases. “Specified” means specified in the agreement. (2) For the purposes of this section and sections [Eligible bodies], [Variation, review and cancellation of agreements under section [Power to enter into agreements with eligible bodies]], [Agreements under section [Power to enter into agreements with eligible bodies]: particular powers] and [Supplementary provisions with respect to agreements under section [Power to enter into agreements with eligible bodies]]— (a) any reference to a function of an IFC authority includes a reference to a function exercisable by a person authorised, appointed or employed by the IFC authority; (b) any reference to an agreement is to an agreement under this section. (3) The Secretary of State’s approval may be given— (a) in relation to a particular agreement or in relation to a description of agreements; (b) unconditionally or subject to conditions specified in the approval. (4) An agreement under this section may not authorise an eligible body to perform any of the following functions— (a) any function whose performance by the body would be incompatible with the purposes for which the body was established; (b) functions under section 171 (accounts). (5) An agreement under this section does not prevent the IFC authority from performing a function to which the agreement relates. (6) The maximum period for which an agreement under this section may authorise an eligible body to perform a function is 20 years.’.—(Huw Irranca-Davies.) Brought up, and read the First time. 3.55 pm The <strong>Parliament</strong>ary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Huw Irranca-Davies): I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time. Mr. Speaker: With this it will be convenient to discuss the following: Government new clause 3—Eligible bodies.
33 Marine and Coastal Access Bill 26 OCTOBER 2009 Marine and Coastal Access Bill 34 [Lords] [Lords] Government new clause 4—Variation, review and cancellation of agreements under section [Power to enter into agreements with eligible bodies]. Government new clause 5—Agreements under section [Power to enter into agreements with eligible bodies]: particular powers. Government new clause 6—Supplementary provisions with respect to agreements under section [Power to enter into agreements with eligible bodies]. Government amendments 6 to 8 Amendment 27, in clause 184, page 117, line 27, at end insert— ‘(2A) The provisions in sections [Power to enter into agreements with eligible bodies], [Eligible bodies], [Variation, review and cancellation of agreements under section [Power to enter into agreements with eligible bodies]], [Agreements under section [Power to enter into agreements with eligible bodies]: particular powers] and [Supplementary provisions with respect to agreements under section [Power to enter into agreements with eligible bodies]] shall apply to Welsh Ministers in relation to Wales.’. Huw Irranca-Davies: I shall speak to new clauses 2, 3, 4, 5 and 5, and amendments 6 to 8. Part 6 will replace sea fisheries committees with inshore fisheries and conservation authorities—IFCAs—in England. These will have a duty to manage sea fisheries sustainably, balancing socio-economic benefits with protection of the marine environment. They will have more money and strengthened powers, while retaining local involvement in decision making. Under the current Bill model, IFCAs will lead on marine species management in the inshore area, including in estuaries. The Environment Agency will lead on protection for salmon, trout, other migratory species and freshwater fish in estuaries and as far out as the 6 nautical mile limit. As many hon. Members are aware, in January we launched a consultation on options for the number of future inshore fisheries and conservation districts. Following that consultation, I am happy to confirm that 10 IFC districts will be established, and the new IFCAs will be established with full powers and duties in April 2011. The Department will carry out more detailed consultation in 2010 to establish the exact landward and seaward boundaries of the new districts. I know that that announcement will be welcomed by all Members of the House. During a useful Commons Committee discussion on part 6, concerns were raised by a number of Members that the Bill as drafted did not provide sufficient flexibility to ensure the most joined-up inshore fisheries management, particularly in areas such as estuaries. In Committee, considerable pressure was exerted on us to amend the Bill so that IFCA functions can be delegated to the Environment Agency in particular, so that marine fisheries in estuaries could be managed in the most efficient way. To address this, we have tabled new clauses 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 and amendments 6, 7 and 8, which provide the option for IFCA functions to be delegated to the Environment Agency and to neighbouring IFCAs. An order-making power is provided to add to the list of eligible bodies so as to enable delegation to be made to other, named public bodies. Bodies can also be removed from the list. Bill Wiggin (Leominster) (Con): Will the Minister be kind enough to explain briefly why he has chosen the Environment Agency rather than the Marine Management Organisation for this function? Huw Irranca-Davies: That is a good point. The Bill is future-proofed, in that the Secretary of State, with the agreement of an IFCA and partners on the ground, could agree in future to delegate to another body. That could be the MMO, another IFCA or the Environment Agency. It could be another body which, at this moment, I cannot imagine. We have future-proofed the Bill, but we have also made it clear that the Secretary of State can waive that delegation power. The purpose of the measures is to give that flexibility, recognising, as has been the focus of the Bill, that there will be local solutions on the ground. I am sure the hon. Gentleman will welcome that. Mr. Austin Mitchell (Great Grimsby) (Lab): I have no quarrel with or opposition to what is proposed, because it seems a sensible redistribution of functions to bodies best able to perform them. However, I should like my hon. Friend’s assurance that fishing, which has been excessively heavily burdened with regulations, will not be burdened with further regulations as a result of this reorganisation. Huw Irranca-Davies: My hon. Friend, who is a stalwart advocate of the fisheries not only in terms of Grimsby, in his constituency, but throughout the UK, is right to raise the issue of fisheries’ regulation, but I assure him that the proposed changes would provide flexibility to ensure that the best organisation had responsibility for forward fisheries management locally and regionally. The proposed changes would not add any bureaucracy or regulation, and he can report back those assurances not only to his constituents, but to sea fishermen throughout the UK. 4pm Andrew George (St. Ives) (LD): Do the Government’s proposed changes risk causing an unintended consequence? Sea fisheries committees already co-operate informally across borders, and they can assist each other, for example, with monitoring and enforcement measures. No formal agreements exist, but would the proposed changes require IFCAs to introduce such agreements? Huw Irranca-Davies: No. The Bill includes a provision to formalise agreements on working across estuaries or water areas, but existing voluntary arrangements and the ability to work together across areas, including on enforcement and so on, will continue. The proposed changes would not hamper that arrangement, and we would not want that to happen. However, they are designed to respond to the concerns, rightly raised in Committee, that the demarcation of IFCAs and the Environment Agency represented a somewhat rigid approach to who was responsible, not least in upper estuary areas. The sole purpose of the proposed changes is to introduce flexibility; it is certainly not to override the effective existing partnerships with sea fisheries committees and others. The Bill already provides for MMO functions to be delegated to relevant bodies, including IFCAs, and our proposed changes would provide for a similar model of delegation for IFCA functions. I shall turn to the key
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