The purpose of the Act is to:

Introduce a new planning system for the marine area, improve and simplify arrangements for managing marine development and ensure greater protection for  the marine environment and biodiversity, and provide greater recreational access to the English coast.

The main elements of the Act are:

• Introduce a new marine planning system for the strategic management of the marine area around the UK, including the creation of marine plans setting the framework for sustainable development in specific parts of the marine area;
• Make provision for a long-distance route around the coast of England with an associated margin of land for access to wider spreading room to include beaches, cliffs, rocks and dunes, for public access on foot for walking and other recreational activities.
• Establish a Marine Management Organisation for the waters around England and the UK offshore area;
• Streamline the law on licensing marine development so that, as far as possible, developers have a one-stop shop for each development;
• Provide powers to designate marine conservation zones (MCZs) for rare, threatened and representative habitats and species, with duties on public authorities and to protect them from damaging activities;
• Strengthen and modernise the licensing and management of marine, migratory, freshwater and shellfish fisheries, including creating new Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authorities and introducing a scheme to manage live fish movement;
• Streamline and modernise enforcement powers for sea fisheries, marine licensing and nature conservation, providing a civil sanctions scheme for licensing and nature conservation offences and an administrative penalty scheme for domestic fisheries offences.

The main benefits of the Act are:

• Greater recreational opportunities from improved public access to the English coast, with the economic benefits that increased recreation and tourism will bring.
• Greater confidence and economic benefits for marine developers through simplification of the legislative framework and faster planning decisions with greater transparency and less uncertainty, and a reduction in administrative burdens by reducing the number of bodies that business needs to deal with;
• Improved and focused protection for marine habitats and species, strengthened fisheries and environmental management arrangements to allow more effective action to conserve ecosystems and protect biodiversity, and the tools we need to meet our international marine conservation obligations;
• More efficient use of marine resources, taking account of current usage and potential future demand, with better opportunities for all stakeholders to help shape the way in which our seas are managed;
• More effective delivery, regulation and enforcement in the marine area by bringing functions together under the Marine Management Organisation;
• Flexible, proportionate and targeted marine licensing provisions will ensure that activities with little or no adverse impact on the environment, marine heritage or other legitimate uses of the sea are regulated to the minimum extent necessary.

A draft Marine Bill and Impact Assessment was published on 3 April 2008 for pre-legislative scrutiny and public consultation.  A joint Committee of the House of Commons and the House of Lords was established to scrutinise the draft Bill and its report can be seen here.

The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee also undertook pre-legislative scrutiny of the coastal access part of the Bill. Its report can be found here. On 25 September 2008 the Government published its response, which can be seen here.  

On the same date, a summary of responses to the public consultation was published here.    Thanks to everybody who commented on the draft Bill.

Contact the Marine Bill Team: MarineBillTeam@defra.gsi.gov.uk

In addition to the proposals in the Bill, the Government is also undertaking the following activity:

• Under the Climate Change Act 2008, preparing to set up by 1 June 2009 a system of carbon budgets capping emissions over successive five-year periods, with three budgets set ahead  and an action plan to meet them;• Consulting on secondary legislation on the proposed Carbon Reduction Commitment - an emissions trading scheme capturing energy use emissions from large non-energy intensive organisations;
• Following a consultation this summer, preparing a Renewable Energy Strategy, setting out how we expect the UK to meet its legally binding target of 15% energy consumption from renewable sources in 2020;

Responding to the Pitt Review into the 2007 floods;

• Carrying out a review of competition and innovation in water markets and household charging for water and sewerage services;
• Publishing a draft water and flooding bill for consultation.