Source · Select Committees · Environmental Audit Committee
Recommendation 1
1
Deferred
Blurred responsibilities and poor coordination undermine effective marine governance and accountability.
Conclusion
Whilst balancing economic and environmental demands is important, it is critical to ensure a balance between climate action and nature recovery, particularly in enabling offshore renewable energy developments to meet net zero targets without compromising marine biodiversity. Achieving sustainable marine governance that ensures marine protection requires effective, cross-government coordination. Marine governance is inherently complex. However, it is essential that the Government adopts a joined- up approach to marine decision-making, ensuring coherence across departments and policies to deliver meaningful outcomes for the marine environment. We are deeply concerned that contrary to this, responsibilities are blurred, resulting in poor coordination and a lack of accountability. (Conclusion, Paragraph 16)
Government Response Summary
The government partially agrees, stating Defra leads marine planning and has a cross-government Marine Spatial Prioritisation programme. It will publish a report on a 'marine systems map' by early 2026 and a forthcoming evidence statement to support future governance improvements, rather than immediately adopting a new joined-up approach.
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government
Deferred
It is agreed that Government should support the needs of different marine sectors while ensuring the protection of marine nature and sustainable use of the marine environment. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is the lead department for marine planning, and marine plans set the policies that are relevant to each region. Departments actively contribute to making sure that each marine plan reflects the latest Government position. Each marine plan is an opportunity to deliver national policies locally. Currently, the East Marine Plan is in the process of being replaced to align with the latest national policy positions. Defra has also led the cross government Marine Spatial Prioritisation programme (MSPri) to ensure that the sea space is developed in a strategic manner. Through this programme, Defra has engaged the key departments across Whitehall with marine interests, their delivery and advisory bodies, and The Crown Estate (TCE). It would not be appropriate to have one department making all the balancing and prioritisation decisions about how the marine environment is used. Marine plans should be used to guide decision makers on how to balance different demands of the sea. National policy statements also set out how the environment and other activities should be considered. The need to consider options and impacts on the environment is already set out in the impact assessments and where relevant when the decision goes to the Secretary of State responsible for nationally significant infrastructure project decisions. It would not, for example, be appropriate for Defra to make the final decision about the balance of priorities–for example when it comes to ports expansion or where telecoms cabling can go. To support the implementation of an effective systems approach to marine governance, Defra has begun to apply its Systems Research Programme.1 Defra will publish a report on its foundational work to create a ‘marine systems map’ to support future systems approaches to marine governance by early 2026. Recognising that ‘institutional sustainability’ is increasingly viewed as a key pillar of sustainable marine governance, Defra has commissioned a soon-to-be-published evidence statement 2 that will underpin the development of sustainable marine governance. Improvements to the sustainability of institutions can help to address overlapping, and inconsistent governance arrangements. Supporting delivery of the Fisheries Act (2020), but also wider marine governance, the evidence statement sets out the governance considerations required to balance environmental, social, and economic sustainability across the marine system, including when considering climate action and nature recovery. The Government therefore partially agrees with this recommendation.