Deputy Presiding Officer, the regulations that have been laid before the Assembly for your consideration today are an amendment to the existing Marine Licensing (Notices Appeals) (Wales) Regulations 2011. This legislation is being introduced in line with the powers set out under the Environment (Wales) Act 2016. Part 6 of the Act amended the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 to provide additional charging powers for marine licensing in Wales. This amendment legislation covers small technical changes to provide an appeal mechanism for notices issued as a result of a licensee failing to comply with the requirement to pay a deposit or a fee charge pursuant to charging powers established by the Environment (Wales) Act 2016. A notice that may be served upon a licensee may vary, suspend or revoke a marine licence. The same procedures and approach currently existing for all other notice appeals under the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 will apply. This is part of a wider package of legislation to introduce new fees and charges for marine licensing on 1 April 2017. The new fees, which we intend to introduce from 1 April this year, 2017, will, amongst other positive outcomes, result in a wider provision of pre-application services and fees being set proportionately against the service being provided.

The notice appeals and the wider fees proposals were initially shaped through close engagement with the marine licensing stakeholder group, through correspondence and a stakeholder workshop. The stakeholder group is representative of the marine sector, particularly aggregates, renewables, construction, dredging, local authorities and other marine licensing regulators. The proposals were then subject to a 12-week public consultation on the revision to marine licensing fees and associated charges in Wales between 5 September 2016 and 28 November 2016. A further stakeholder workshop was held during the consultation period. The proposals were supported by nearly all respondents. The new fees and charges will be kept under review, with continuous improvement as a core value, to ensure we continue to provide an efficient and sustainable marine licensing service to the people of Wales. The amendment notice appeals regulations ensure that licensees are able to appeal against notices served for the non-payment of fees and deposits. Deputy Presiding Officer, I commend these regulations to the National Assembly.