08:55 The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Dr Thérèse Coffey)

Regulation 23, in part 5, transfers functions contained in the EU marine strategy framework directive, which aims to protect the marine environment, by amending the Marine Strategy Regulations 2010, which transposed the directive to the entire United Kingdom. The functions relate to: assessing the state of UK seas and setting objectives, targets and indicators to measure progress towards good environmental status; carrying out programmes to monitor progress against the targets and indicators; and setting out a programme of measures for achieving good environmental status. These functions are conferred on the Secretary of State to exercise for the whole marine strategy area, as defined in regulation 3 of the Marine Strategy Regulations 2010. This includes the UK’s territorial seas, including coastal waters, offshore waters out to the limits of the UK’s renewable energy zone and the seabed in areas of the UK continental shelf beyond the renewable energy zone.

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