Speeches by Gardiner.

“Ms Willis, you said that you work very closely with DESNZ. Last month it published the “Building the North Sea’s Energy Future” consultation. Did you work closely with it on that? That consultation document talks about the transition from oil and gas to clean energy, but it does not seem to focus on the challenges of m…”

“I was asking you for the good things that you are trying to do ahead of time while pointing out that some good things have already been done that you have not yet implemented. You did undertake to do so by the end of last year and of course good ecological status was promised by 2020, and we still do not have it. We co…”

“I was trying to lead in gently.”

“Minister, we heard that you are at the point of trying to get BBNJ ocean treaty ratified, which is great news, and you talked about the work that is being done that will mean that you can get on with it quickly. We heard from the witness earlier today from the MMO that they have completed their work on stage 3 and that…”

“I think that is a reassurance that ultimately this will come out well. You talked about the features-based approach to MPAs but of course the whole-site approach has shown itself to be more effective for marine conservation protection than the features-based approach. We see that in the Lyme bay example. It is one of t…”

“I was proud to be in this House when Tony Blair and Gordon Brown established the Department for International Development, and when they established the Drop the Debt campaign. I was proud when the Leader of the House and I stood for election on a manifesto that committed us to restoring the international aid budget to…”

“She is, but she is also very prudent in the way in which she has marshalled her resources, and all credit to her. I was interested in what you said about the rapid review that you conducted, Secretary of State. You said there would not be any point in publishing the rapid review until we had the spring statement. Now, …”

“The work done by the Conservative party on the NPPF was welcome, particularly in respect of its views on incorporating nature into the structure of the build, but it was unsuccessful. The hon. Gentleman will have heard my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister talk about a win-win for nature, so can he give the Ho…”

“Dame Glenys has already told this Committee that she does not have the resources that she would like.”

“We have a limited time, so I am not seeking a detailed breakdown of the budget. What I simply want to understand is that you have two options: one is to extend the time period and the other is to lower the target. It is important for this Committee to understand what we are judging you on doing.”

“Is it not more important to have targets that are in accordance with the science, rather than to say, “Well, we have the resources to achieve X, Y or Z”? Isn’t it more important to say, “This is what needs to be done”?”

“Of course, many of your colleagues in the Department were the ones who set the previous targets and advised the Government on so doing. I do not want to push that any further because I want to ask you a few fishy questions. To start off with MPAs—Marine Protected Areas—you said you would publish stage 3 and 4 of the Ma…”

“Not on the most damaging activities.”

“How many MPAs?”

“Out of what, 360 supposed MPAs?”

“The sooner we can have a timeline on that, the better, because you did say it would be done by the end of last year. On enforcement, the landing obligation is essential for data—setting catch quotas—but we all know it is not being observed. The MMO has recorded 32 instances of non-compliance, which is a fraction of wha…”

“But none of them has. We have the figures for those who have had a slap on the wrist. We know that, but not even one has gone to court. You know that the economic benefit to a fishing vessel for not landing its bycatch, is enormous, right? There should be a concomitant penalty, shouldn’t there?”

“Could you write to the Committee when the first court case is taken against a vessel for non-compliance with the landing obligation? That will alert us to the fact that you are on the case. On the implementation of remote electronic monitoring, which would put cameras on board vessels to check bycatch and the landing o…”

“Thank you. We have the UN Ocean Conference approaching in June this year. We need 60 countries to ratify, and 18 have ratified so far. We are not one of them, yet we like to think that we are taking leadership on the global oceans. Can you give us a specific date for ratification? I do understand that you are trying to…”

“The EIP is going to be refreshed. I am just trying to get the staging now and the timing of things. If you are refreshing the EIP this year, when do you intend to make proposals for the next one? Is that going to be in 2028 or will there be a fresh EIP this year? That would then give you the five-year process to 2030, …”