§ Mrs. Margaret EwingTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of the implications for rod and line fishing licences in(a) England and Wales and (b) Scotland of the establishment of the National Rivers Authority as proposed in the Water Bill; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Donald ThompsonIn England and Wales the requirement to hold appropriate fishing licences will remain under the National Rivers Authority. The procedures with regard to changing fishing licence duties will be slightly modified by the Water Act. The NRA will be required to publish the full scale of any new licence duties that it proposes. Where there are objections the changes may not take effect without the approval of the relevant Minister. We have removed an outmoded provision which prevented new licence duties from taking effect before the start of the next calendar year. We are, however, retaining the principle that not more than one increase in licence duties will be permitted in any 12-month period.
Fishing licences are not required in Scotland, and this remains unchanged by the Water Act.