§ Lords amendment:No. 1, in line 8, leave out "section 6" and insert "sections 6 and 7"
§ 4.52 pm.
§ The Minister of State, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Mr. Alick Buchanan-Smith)I beg to move, That this house doth agree with the Lords in the said amendment.
§ Mr. SpeakerWith this it will be convenient to take Lords amendment No. 17.
§ Mr. Buchanan-SmithAmendment No. 17, of which amendment No. 1 is consequential is one of the provisions in the Bill designed to assist fish farmers. Clause 33 removes unnecessary controls on the activities of fish farmers in England and Wales, controls which were designed to provide for the conservation of wild fish and which are not appropriate in respect of fish farmers. While in general Scottish legislation already provides the necessary exemptions for fish farmers in Scotland, the Scottish legislation which applies to the English section of the River Tweed does not provide these exemptions. So amendment No. 17 is needed to provide the necessary exemptions on the English section of the Tweed, and thus bring the legislation for this small but important area into line with the rest of Britain. The hon. Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed (Mr. Beith) has an interest in this.
§ Mr. A. J. Beith (Berwick-upon-Tweed)As I so often pursue the Minister on amendments affecting the English section of the Tweed, I assure him that I am entirely satisfied.
§ Question put and agreed to.