Third Delegated Legislation Committee
9 June 2026
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Third Delegated Legislation Committee House of Commons
00:04 - 00:14
Speaker 1
Order. The draft Marine Licensing (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Amendment etc.) Order 2026. I call the Minister to move the motion.
00:14 - 02:24
Speaker 2
Thank you very much indeed, Mr. Hayes, and what a pleasure it is to serve under your chairmanship today. And I'm very glad that the rain has managed to hold off so far for us today. Let the summer begin. I beg to move that the Committee consider the Marine Licensing (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Amendment etc.) Order 2026, laid before this House on the 15th of April 2026. This statutory instrument is one of the legislative measures being taken to implement the UK's obligation under the BBNJ agreement.
That is, the agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction. It helps the UK's obligations in relation to environmental impact assessments for activities carried on in areas beyond national jurisdiction within the remit of marine licensing. The UK must be able to meet all its obligations under the BBNJ agreement before we can ratify it. And the fact I've had such trouble pronouncing it shows why it's always called BBNJ. This statutory instrument will help enable this through amendments to the marine licensing regime.
Before turning to the detail, I want to begin by underlining why it is so important that this House supports this legislation. BBNJ, this agreement, is an implementing agreement under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. It aims to support the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction. And this is a landmark international agreement that creates a legal framework to protect the two-thirds of the ocean that lies beyond any nation's jurisdiction. These vast waters contain extraordinary biodiversity and ecosystems vital to the health of our planet and that are home to sharks, whales, sea turtles, and countless other species, many of which we haven't actually discovered yet.
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