Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to support the Cornish under ten-metre fishing fleet.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Appreciating the importance of the u10m fleet to our coastal communities, including those in Cornwall, Defra will look at ways to help the fleet to thrive and contribute more to economic growth and our food security.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to reduce sewage discharges into (a) rivers in and (b) the sea off the coast of the North Cornwall constituency.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Governments new Water (Special Measures) Bill delivers on Labour’s manifesto commitment to put water companies under tough special measures by strengthening regulation to clean up our rivers, lakes and seas more broadly, lakes and seas. Further legislation will build on this to fundamentally transform our water industry and protect British rivers and seas.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what guidance his Department issues to the Marine Management Organisation on (a) informing and (b) consulting local communities before determining marine licence applications for seaweed farms.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra has not issued any current guidance to the Marine Management Organisation (MMO). The MMO follows the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 (MCAA) when considering how to engage and consult with local communities affected by marine developments, including seaweed farm applications. The Act requires that there must be publication of notice of an application for a marine licence, in a manner that the MMO considers most likely to bring the proposal to the attention of people with an interest in it. The licensing authority must have regard to any representations which it receives from any person having an interest in the outcome of the application.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made of an assessment the adequacy of public (a) information and (b) consultation by the Marine Management Organisation in relation to marine licence applications (i) MLA/2023/00307 and (ii) MLA/20243/00308 in Port Quin Bay and (iii) MLA/2022/00180 in Port Isaac Bay.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Marine Management Organisation’s (MMO) statutory powers for marine licensing are set out in the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 (MCAA). Licensing decisions made by MMO are done so independently of Defra (unless they meet certain criteria which could permit them to be referred to the Defra Secretary of State for determination), therefore, an assessment of these marine licence applications has not been carried out by Defra.
Link to the MMO Framework Document:
MMO framework document - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).