Antarctic Bill

Mark Simmonds Excerpts

Friday 2nd November 2012 Commons Chamber

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Mark Simmonds)]

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Stroud (Neil Carmichael) on presenting this important private Member’s Bill at this time and on the detailed and knowledgeable way he introduced it. I am pleased to confirm the Government’s support for his Bill to introduce increased protection for the Antarctic environment. One of the encouraging things about the debate is the clear unanimity of purpose to put it beyond any doubt that Antarctica matters as much to the United Kingdom today as it ever has done. The United Kingdom has the finest possible traditions of Antarctic exploration and care for what is an immense but fragile landscape, a point made particularly passionately by my hon. Friend the Member for Stone (Mr Cash).

This has been an excellent and well-informed debate. Several Members have mentioned the centenary of Captain Scott’s final expedition, previous expeditions and the importance of keeping faith with his scientific legacy. The Bill’s provisions are a real and important part of that legacy. Antarctica is a unique global asset for science, in particular predicting the global impacts of climate change. At the same time, we must all recognise that human activity has increased significantly, with tourism, research stations and growing global interest. The consequences of a man-made emergency in Antarctica could be severe. The remoteness, unpredictability and severity of the climate, together with a lack of rescue or emergency services, would only heighten the impact of any incident.

The Government believe that the Bill provides appropriate strengthening of environmental protections by providing clear lines of accountability for dealing with environmental emergencies caused by human activity; putting the best existing practice into law; increasing the protection given to Antarctic marine plants and invertebrates; and helping further to protect Antarctica from invasive non-native species. There is a significant UK future in Antarctica. However, Members have raised a number of concerns about the future of the British presence in Antarctica and the south Atlantic. I want to provide the strongest possible reassurance from the Dispatch Box about the UK’s future in Antarctica and the wider region. The Government are absolutely committed to maintaining and developing the British scientific and physical presence in Antarctica.

Let me pick up one of the points that the right hon. Member for Warley (Mr Spellar) made. He was absolutely right to highlight the importance of the Science and Technology Committee, but its work was one of many contributions and lobbying efforts made to Government. The Government have consistently been purposeful at all times about the dual mission and its importance to the region. We are also glad that the decision by the Natural Environment Research Council reflects the clear messages received from the Select Committee and from my hon. Friend the Member for Romford (Andrew Rosindell) and his all-party group, and those received from many other Members, scientists and concerned members of the public. Indeed, let me say how articulate and passionate I found my hon. Friend’s contribution. He should be praised for the enormous contribution he has made to strengthening ties between the United Kingdom and all our overseas territories, and take personal credit for the significant role he has played. While I am in this ministerial office, I intend to continue to develop and build on the work of my predecessor, who was also enthusiastic, keen and passionate about this agenda.

I am pleased to confirm that the Government’s commitment to continuing the dual mission in the region is as strong as ever. I welcome the fact that, having completed its consultation, the Natural Environment Research Council agreed yesterday that it would not now proceed with the proposal that it had been talking about. The Minister for Universities and Science has placed a written ministerial statement before the House this morning to confirm that position.

[Dr Huppert]

Does the Minister agree that it is now essential to appoint a full-time director of the British Antarctic Survey to lead the organisation forward and to deliver the dual mission?

--- Later in debate ---

[Mark Simmonds]

I agree that a full-time director of the British Antarctic Survey needs to be appointed as soon as possible, but I do not agree with the suggestion that Ministers should get involved with such an appointment. That is a matter for the BAS and for the other groups and organisations that need to be consulted.

I want to turn to some of the important issues that hon. Members have raised. It is right to put them in context, and also to correct the one or two misunderstandings that have emerged. I want to clarify the point made by my hon. Friend the Member for Christchurch (Mr Chope), to ensure that the House is in no doubt about the United Kingdom’s sovereignty of the British Antarctic Territory, which stems from the oldest claim to the territory in Antarctica back in 1908. We have to acknowledge that the sector was subsequently claimed by Chile and Argentina, but, under the terms of the Antarctic treaty, sovereignty issues are held in abeyance and are neither confirmed nor denied. The United Kingdom continues to assert its sovereignty over the territory through the provision of legislation and postal services and the presence of the Royal Navy and the British Antarctic Survey. As the hon. Member for Islington North (Jeremy Corbyn) correctly pointed out, co-operation with Chile and Argentina is good on the ground and in most international settings, and we are keen to maintain that positive good relationship.

[Jeremy Corbyn]

The Minister has probably heard the news today that there has been a breakdown at the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources at its meeting in Hobart, because Ukraine, China and Russia appear unwilling to sign up to an agreement on linked marine protection zones. Those zones are clearly important for the protection of the ecosystem and fish stocks. The commission will reconvene in Berlin next year. What lobbying efforts will the Government put in, ahead of that meeting in Germany next summer, to ensure that we can reach an agreement to extend marine conservation all around the Antarctic area? Such agreement is essential, as my right hon. Friend the Member for Warley (Mr Spellar) has explained.

[Mark Simmonds]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his intervention. I hope that he will be patient, because I will address that issue in a moment. I am going to go through the points that have been raised in a logical, chronological order.

In his well-informed contribution earlier, the hon. Member for Islington North (Jeremy Corbyn) asked about the military presence in Antarctica, and he was absolutely right to seek clarification on that important point. I can inform the House that the Antarctic treaty prohibits military testing or exercises there. However, military help with the logistics of national programmes is allowed. That is why HMS Protector will be in the Antarctic this year to assist with UK programmes in such areas as hydrographic charting, to give logistical support to the British Antarctic Survey and to provide a search and rescue capability.

The hon. Gentleman just raised the important point about the unfortunate breakdown in the negotiations in Hobart yesterday. It is extremely disappointing that there has been a failure to reach agreement on the new marine protected areas, particularly those in the Ross sea, which I think was the area to which he was referring. The UK has an excellent reputation, under both Governments, for the creation of marine protected areas. We were instrumental in setting up the first one in the Southern ocean around the South Orkneys, and we have announced a new one around South Georgia in the Southern ocean as well. Our commitment to the protection and sustainable use of the Southern ocean is undimmed and undiluted. I give the hon. Gentleman the assurance that we will continue to work to persuade other countries to reach an agreement on the creation of appropriate marine protected areas, and that we are pressing hard for an opportunity to bring the process back on track in anticipation, hopefully, of an agreement at the conference next year.

The hon. Gentleman also made a point about whether the Bill’s application is to only part of Antarctica or to the whole of it. I can assure him that it will cover British expeditions and activities anywhere in Antarctica. Along with my hon. Friend the Member for Shipley (Philip Davies), he asked about the time scale for the Bill’s ratification by all members. I can give an assurance that the UK will push for ratification by other members as fast as possible. Indeed, some—including Finland, Peru, Poland, Spain, Sweden and, recently, Australia—have already ratified the protocols before the UK. All 28 consultative parties to this particular liability index have signed article 6 of the environmental protocol. This Bill, along with other national Bills, is merely a ratification of what has already been signed up to, so we anticipate no significant issues or problems there.

In response to the question of my hon. Friend the Member for North East Somerset (Jacob Rees-Mogg) about the EU’s possible interest in British expeditions or other aspects of the Antarctic, I can confirm that the Bill’s amendment to existing legislation reflects the growing international nature of science teams and the necessity for universities—mentioned by my hon. Friend the Member for Shipley—to secure easier recognition of world-class British expeditions, which inevitably have an international flavour nowadays.

My hon. Friend the Member for Stone was absolutely right to highlight the importance of clause 15, which provides for orderly regulation and conservation of historic and monumental sites, and of clause 16, which increases the environmental protections of flora and fauna, along with marine plants and invertebrates. He raised the issue of the EU’s application for observer status. I can confirm that it is not for the Antarctic but for the Arctic Council that the EU is trying to gain such status. I can confirm, too, that this has not been agreed and that the EU has no status in the Antarctic treaty system.

My hon. Friend the Member for Shipley gave a very forensic and detailed analysis of the legislative architecture surrounding this Bill. It will not come as a surprise to him to hear me say that many of the points he raised deserve thorough and detailed consideration in Committee. Both my hon. Friend the Member for Stroud and I will be interested to discuss these issues to ensure that the Committee is happy with the thought process and detail, supplied by my hon. Friend and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, that have gone into the Bill.

It is important to say that the Government are supportive of the Bill. We see it as making a significant contribution to organising Antarctic expeditions and other tours to take preventive measures and establish contingency plans to reduce the risk of environmental emergencies and to secure all-important insurance. The Bill is important, too, for updating existing Antarctic legislation to recognise and respond to the increasingly international flavour of scientific activity and to provide better protection through clauses 15 and 16.

My hon. Friend the Member for Shipley asked about the liability annex, which mirrors the issue raised by the hon. Member for Islington North. My hon. Friend asked about ratification, too, and I can confirm that once the annex is ratified, we will be able to show leadership, alongside those who have already ratified the environmental protocol, in the Antarctic treaty consultative meetings and actively lobby all countries to ratify at the earliest opportunity.

My hon. Friend raised a series of detailed but very important issues, which I do not intend to go into now unless the House absolutely wants me to. I get the impression that it probably does not. If it would help, I should be happy to write to my hon. Friend in the meantime—especially if he is not here—

[Philip Davies]

I am here.

[Mark Simmonds]

I apologise. He is here, sitting on the Front Bench. I shall write to him setting out the details, if he is happy with that. He may find himself on the Committee, in which case we can dig into some of the issues if he is sufficiently interested.

In response to the point correctly made by the right hon. Member for Warley, I can confirm that the provisions in the draft Bill on which consultation took place in 2009 regarding search and rescue can be implemented by means of the existing permitting regime as contained in the Antarctic Act 1994, and that primary legislation is therefore unnecessary. I am sure he agrees that there is no point in legislating when legislation is not necessary, or when the position is covered by existing legislative frameworks.

The Government believe that the Bill provides a real opportunity and gives proportionate support to the Antarctic environment. This country is rightly proud of its Antarctic heritage in the form of exploration, international co-operation and good governance. I am delighted to support the Bill on behalf of the Government, and I urge Members to give it their active support in Committee in order to ensure its expeditious passage on to the statute book.