Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:10 pm on 12 November 2019.
Thank you very much. That's the second time I've heard that quote today; it's obviously the quote of the day. As the Member said, it's 10 years since the UK Labour Government brought forward their legislation, and I did say—I held my hands up—we are playing catch-up and that's why it was so important, I think, that we have brought forward this Welsh national marine plan. I do think it's a landmark day, certainly for my officials, who've worked on it for a long time. They see this as a really important step for the future of our seas.
Huw Irranca-Davies talked about the marine protected areas, and whether I would consider a gold standard. I certainly haven't had that raised with me that I can remember, but, obviously, we've had significant stakeholder engagement on this plan, and I'm always happy to look at anything that will continue to protect our seas. The plan clearly states that the development of strategic resource areas, for instance, shouldn't hinder the future designation of MPAs, and that certain human activity may not be appropriate within MPAs, for instance. It's really important that we have those protections within this plan, because, as I say, it's there for 20 years, so it's really important that we make the most of our opportunities.
Regarding the fossil fuels and the oil and gas, I did want to be very clear about the differences between the two Governments. However, oil and gas consenting is a reserved matter for the UK Government across most of our Welsh seas, as the Member knows, but we are responsible for nature conservation, we're responsible for environmental protection, and that's why we've put in place a wide range of measures to ensure that those safeguards are in place. I met with the Minister for climate change mitigation in Ireland when I was at the marine energy conference. This was an issue that we discussed generally, but I think we do need to ensure that, all the countries that I spoke to about those cross-border arrangements, we know very clearly where we have the powers and what we are able to do with those powers. As I say, the licensing of offshore petroleum exploitation is a reserved function, but I think the UK Government are in no doubt as to our position.