Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Bill: Committee: Amendment 5

Parliament voted on 17 November 2025 to reject Amendment 5 to the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Bill at committee stage. The amendment, tabled by the Conservative opposition, would have required any regulations enabling ministers to charge fees under clause 11(3)(c) of the Bill to be approved by Parliament through the affirmative resolution procedure before taking effect. The vote was defeated by 318 noes to 147 ayes, Division 357. The affirmative resolution procedure requires ministers to bring secondary legislation before Parliament for an explicit vote, rather than allowing it to pass without active approval. By rejecting this amendment, the House accepted the government's position that existing parliamentary procedures are sufficient to oversee ministerial fee-setting powers created by the Bill. The Bill itself implements the 2023 Agreement on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction, and clause 11 confers powers on the Secretary of State to set fees in connection with the obligations it establishes. The vote divided almost entirely along government-versus-opposition lines. Every Labour and Labour and Co-operative Party MP who voted did so against the amendment, providing the 318 noes. The 147 ayes came overwhelmingly from the Conservatives, with 84 voting in favour, joined by 58 Liberal Democrats and smaller contributions from 2 Democratic Unionist Party MPs, 2 independents, and 1 Reform UK MP. The Greens and Plaid Cymru voted no alongside the government, a notable cross-party element given both are not in government. This vote closely mirrors the result of Amendment 4 on the same day, which was also defeated 318 to 143.