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New Marine
Conservation Zones welcomed...
THE Marine Conservation
Society (MCS) welcomes the announcement by the UK Government of 27
Marine Conservation Zones as a significant milestone for marine
conservation in English seas. But the charity recognises that
commitment to managing the sites properly, and to designating more
sites in future, is essential to ensure that a network is achieved.
MCS says:- "this announcement is a significant step towards stemming
the alarming decline in our rich marine biodiversity, ensuring
iconic species such as the seahorse, black bream and native oyster,
and stunning habitats in places such as Chesil Beach and the
Skerries Banks, may be better protected for future generations."
The charity is also pleased to see that the Government has listened
to concerns about when future designations will be planned, with
consultation on future zones timetabled in 2015/16 and 2016/17.
"This announcement is a significant milestone for marine
conservation. We urge Government to bring forward designation of
future tranches to prevent many threatened seabed habitats being
further damaged; these 27 sites represent less than a quarter of the
number recommended by scientists to complete an 'ecologically
coherent' network." says Melissa Moore, MCS Senior Policy
Officer.
MCS will be looking for clarity on the management for these sites,
as the Governments commitment to protect marine wildlife will only
be delivered if effective measures are put in place to look after
them. Melissa Moore says that:- "The MCZs will be
multi-use, so low-impact fishing such as potting will be permitted
in most sites. However, effective regulatory measures may need to be
established to protect vulnerable sites from damaging activities
such as scallop dredging and bottom trawling. It
is vital that within these sites there is a clear notion of what can
and can't happen, and who is responsible for policing those
activities, otherwise we're just creating paper parks."
Defra received around 40,000 responses to their consultation to
March 31st 2013, with over 5,000 individuals providing their
feedback through an online facility on the MCS website www.mcsuk.org,
representing around 12.5% of the number received. MCS rallied
enormous support for a network of Marine Conservation Zones,
organising a march on parliament in February 2013 which was joined
by viewers of the TV "Fish Fight." The 2013 study:-
'A report on the value of Marine Protected Areas in the UK to
divers and anglers' published by the Marine Conservation
Society and various partners, shows the value of marine conservation
zones far outweighing the costs of designating and managing them.
FESTIVE FUN AT
CHARITY COFFEE MORNING
ON Wednesday, 27 November 2013,
the Southport Committee of North West Cancer Research (NWCR) is
inviting guests to a festive charity coffee morning. Guest will enjoy mince pies with freshly brewed coffee at
the Masonic Hall Duke Street from 10.30am. Entry to the event
is £3.50 including refreshments and there will be a raffle, stalls
and NWCR Christmas cards on sale.
Olive Cutts, Chair of the
Southport Committee said:- "Christmas is on its way so we're
inviting the community to embrace the festive spirit and join us at
this coffee morning. Not only will people get to enjoy some festive
treats they will also be helping us raise money for important
research into the causes of cancer."
Anne Jackson,
Chief Executive of NWCR said:- "We can't thank the Southport
Committee enough for organising this coffee morning. It is the
dedication and generosity of our committees that is the backbone of
the charity. The money that is raised enables us to fund high
quality, innovative research within the region."
For more information about NWCR
visit:-
nwcr.org. |
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MEP backs
controversial quotas for women
THE North West Lib Dem MEP
Chris Davies has voted in favour of forcing large companies to have
more women directors on their boards. A proposed new EU law backed
by the European Parliament would require public companies employing
more than 250 people to have at least 40% of their non-executive
Directors from each gender. The proposals will now be considered by
EU governments, and the UK has already declared its opposition.
Chris Davies said that although he disliked setting quotas they
could be necessary to bring about change and ensure that the voice
of women was heard.
"Fewer than one-fifth of non-executive directors in Britain are
women. The Old Boy's Club is working all too well in its own
interest, but countries like Sweden have shown that companies can
thrive when women are given a stronger voice. The banking crisis
showed us what happens when the people running our economy are drawn
from a tiny pool of men who all know each other and protect each
others' backs."
The MEP said that he would have:- "preferred the proposal to
have come from the UK Government rather than from Brussels, but that
too few national parliaments across Europe had raised an objection."
Professor Jo Crotty is a Liberal Democrat candidate for the European
Parliament in the 2014 elections and holds the Chair of Strategy and
Corporate Social Responsibility at Salford Business School. She
said:- "Persuasion has been tried for decades and simply isn't
working. We need this legislation to change the culture of big
business and make sure we are using all of the talent in our
workforce. You can't build a stronger economy if only half of the
population gets considered for the top jobs at FTSE 100 companies.
Conservative MEPs will find excuses to protect their friends on
company boards but the simple fact is that they voted against women
today."
EU's new
agriculture policy 'unambitious', says local Labour Euro MP
LABOUR'S EU agriculture
spokesperson, Brian Simpson MEP, has described an agreement on the
future of Europe's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) as a
"serious missed opportunity."
In a vote on Wednesday, 20 November 2013, MEPs finalised how
Europe's agriculture budget for the next 7 years will be spent. Mr
Simpson welcomed some moves towards spending reform but added that
the much of the agreement remained weak and unambitious. Mr Simpson
said:- "Throughout the debates on this agriculture spending
plan, Labour has always maintained that inefficient farming
practices should be replaced by sustainable, competitive models that
benefit rural communities as well as the wider public. That's why
Labour proposed a series of radical reforms to ensure that farming
in the UK and EU as a whole is modern, green and fit for the future.
I am pleased that the new agreement will mean more transparency.
Taxpayers have the right to know how Europe's agriculture budget is
being spent, so under the new deal members of the public can find
out how much CAP beneficiaries are getting, and how they are using
the funds. But unfortunately, other proposed reforms have been
largely rejected in favour of the status quo."
Labour believes that the UK government should have pushed for more
significant improvements when the agriculture budget was discussed
in the European Council. Mr Simpson said:- "Supporters
of the new funding deal are saying there will be more money for
environmental measures, but in reality I can see few tangible
benefits for the environment and many farmers will be exempted from
environmental protection requirements. Conservation groups are
calling this agreement a 'green wash' and frankly, I agree with
them. On top of the limited environmental gains, it is a real shame
that there will be even more spending on production subsidies, or to
put it another way - more money wasted on inefficient farming. This
is money that would be much better spent on rural development
programmes to support our prized rural communities. Labour wanted an
overhaul of European spending on agriculture, with more focus on
financial efficiency, environmental protection and rewarding good
farming practices. Despite a real opportunity for radical change,
we've been left with an unambitious agreement that has failed to
fully reform the EU's agriculture policy."
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