HARBOUR REVISION ORDER (HRO) – WHAT IS IT?
A Harbour Revision Order (HRO) is a way of amending or updating existing harbour legislation without requiring a full Act of Parliament. Instead, it is approved as secondary legislation (a statutory instrument) by the Secretary of State for Transport, after a process managed by Marine Management Organisation (MMO).
Gov.uk page on Harbour Orders
MARINE MANAGEMENT ORGANISATION (MMO) – WHO ARE THEY?
The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) was created in 2009 by the Marine and Coastal Access Act. It is an executive non-departmental public body, sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, responsible for regulating and managing England’s marine and coastal environments. “..MMO’s purpose is to protect and enhance our precious marine environment, and support UK economic growth by enabling sustainable marine activities and development.” gov.uk About Us page. The Port of London Authority (PLA) submitted its application for a Harbour Revision Order (HRO) to MMO, which adminsters the process on behalf of the government.
Marine Management Association website
The Thames Concordat
THE PORT OF LONDON AUTHORITY (PLA) – WHO ARE THEY?
The PLA, based in Gravesend in Kent, is a statutory body responsible for managing the tidal Thames, which stretches all the way from Teddington Lock in West London to the North Sea. The CEO is Jonson Cox.
The Port of London Authority website
Wikipedia page on the Port of London Authority
STATUTORY INSTRUMENT (SI) – WHAT IS IT?
A Statutory Instrument (SI) is a form of secondary legislation (also called delegated or subordinate legislation) that allows government ministers or other authorities to make or amend laws without requiring a new Act of Parliament. For example, some laws in the Covid pandemic (eg lockdown measures) were introduced quickly using Statutory Instruments.