Mr. Conor McCabe:

It is a very strong element. I can focus on the national marine planning framework as an example, as it is being finalised ahead of the March deadline. In effect, it has been out for two public consultations. The baseline study was released at the end of 2017, went through full public consultation and it led to the draft national marine planning framework, which was launched last November. My colleague, Mr. Wooley, mentioned earlier that there was also a strategic environmental assessment published at the same time, along with a Natura impact statement and an appropriate assessment. They were published on the same day.

That public consultation was elongated to mid-April this year. We did a series of roadshows around the country to inform people and get feedback. There was also the statutory consultation, when members of the public could offer submissions. We have done an extensive amount of work to analyse those submissions in order to bring together a final document. We are currently doing that. We will reach our deadline of the first quarter of 2021. The final national marine planning framework will be launched at that point. We have done two public consultations on it and we will not be doing another at this point. That framework is a living and iterative process.