Source · Select Committees · Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee
Recommendation 27
27
Rejected
To ensure coherent cross-government leadership of the proposed Sea Use Framework by the end of...
Recommendation
To ensure coherent cross-government leadership of the proposed Sea Use Framework by the end of 2026, the government should establish a ministerial board, to oversee the coordination of government policy on the use of UK waters. This ministerial board would complement or absorb, rather than replace, the existing MSPri Board by focusing specifically on the strategic coordination and delivery of the proposed Sea Use Framework. This “Sea Use Coordination Board” would provide the strategic direction necessary to align departmental objectives relating to marine planning, fisheries, conservation, energy and coastal communities. The Board should: • oversee and steer the development of the Sea Use Framework, ensuring it is genuinely cross-government and integrates environmental, fisheries, energy and spatial planning needs; • meet quarterly, with minutes and attendance lists published within two months of each meeting; • ensure structured engagement across all relevant Defra family bodies and agencies, including Joint Nature Conservation Committee, Natural England, the MMO, Cefas, and Defra’s fisheries, conservation and marine management teams, with a requirement to demonstrate collaborative input into the development of the Framework; and • produce, by April 2027, a public progress report on the Sea Use Framework, setting out how departments and delivery bodies have contributed to shared priorities and how conflicting objectives have been addressed. (Recommendation, Paragraph 56) 32
Government response summary AI-generated
The government rejects the recommendation to establish a new ministerial board for a Sea Use Framework, stating that existing structures such as Marine Plans, National Policy Statements, the MSPri programme, and TCE’s Marine Delivery Routemap already fulfil the role of a Sea Use Framework.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Government Response
Rejected
HM Government · verbatim extract
Rejected
The Government understands the Committee’s call for a Sea Use Framework. However, we believe the structures to fulfil the role of a Sea Use Framework are already in place. These include: a. Marine plans, which are statutory plans produced by the MMO to guide the use and development of the English marine area. They ensure that the right activities happen in the right place, at the right time, and in the right way. b. National Policy Statements, which compliment marine plans and provide the primary policy framework for decision-making on Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects, such as offshore wind. They guide the MMO and the Secretary of State in the examination and determination of applications, such as offshore wind developments. c. The Marine Spatial Prioritisation programme, which provides policy direction on sea use. d. TCE’s Marine Delivery Routemap which dynamically models and maps potential use scenarios for the seabed to help with planning and deliver policy. It also reflects wider key marine policies such as the Strategic Spatial Energy Plan and marine plans. The above factors mean we think a Sea Use Framework is effectively already in place.
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