Oral - Response to the Report of the Environment, Planning and Countryside Committee’s consideration of Defra’s consultation on a Marine Bill

I welcome the committee’s report on the marine Bill and the interest that the committee continues to show in the development of this important piece of legislation. The Assembly Government notes the statements and recommendations that the committee made in its report. We know that the marine Bill represents a change in the way in which UK Bills are drawn up, taking account of the Government of Wales Act 2006 and the way in which devolution is changing.

The development of the marine Bill is taking place at a time that allows us to acknowledge the differences between devolved countries, while also working towards a shared goal of having better-managed, sustainable, UK seas. Given that context, the Assembly Government agrees with the committee’s call to secure the broadest possible flexibility in the way in which the Bill is drawn up. The committee’s report acknowledges the complicated mix of devolved and non-devolved powers in the marine environment, and work will need to be done with the UK Government, and not just in the cross-border areas, such as the Severn and Dee estuaries.

Marine spatial planning is a new approach to managing our seas and will require a cross-cutting, co-operative approach. We, as a Government, are working with other administrations and departments to develop a system of marine spatial planning that will introduce a better system for managing the use and protection of marine resources, taking account of all activities and uses.

It is important to us that any system of marine spatial planning can operate and work with our terrestrial planning system and the Wales spatial plan. The Assembly Government welcomes the committee’s support for a system of marine spatial planning.

The committee’s report sets out support for a staged move towards a more integrated licensing regime. The marine Bill presents a key opportunity to remedy the ad-hoc arrangements that are in place and ensure that we approach the management of the seas in a holistic, thoughtful and strategic manner to create a system that will allow the sustainable use, development and protection of our marine resources. The Assembly Government supports the creation of a simplified and streamlined system of licensing for the marine environment.

As many speakers pointed out in the debate on the committee’s report, Wales has an enviable marine environment that is increasingly under pressure from many activities, for example, tourism, transport, energy generation and storage. Over 70 per cent of our coastline and 40 per cent of Wales’s seas are designated as important because of their habitats and species. There is a range of proposals under the marine Bill to help protect the marine environment. The Assembly Government supports a move towards a more integrated approach to the protection of the marine environment, recognising the importance of protecting not just individual species, but whole ecosystems.

Finally, on fisheries, the Assembly Government supports the committee’s recommendation to update inshore fisheries management and legislation. To that end, I announced on 15 September proposals that stated that the Assembly Government should assume full responsibility for the management of fisheries in Welsh waters. Officials are currently holding meetings with key stakeholders and a 12-week public consultation will begin in December.

The marine Bill will enable a significant re-organisation of the management of all our seas, something that is unlikely to be seen again for some considerable time. This is a great opportunity. I welcome the committee’s report and I will continue to keep both the committee and the Assembly as a whole informed of developments in terms of this important matter.