Bathing Water Regulations 2013

Tuesday 12th November 2024 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Emma Hardy)]

Our water system urgently needs fixing. There have been repeated failures for the public and record levels of sewage polluting our rivers, lakes and seas. This must be stopped. Fundamental reform of the water sector is under way but will not happen overnight. This Government are committed to reforming the system so that it works for the public, and are taking further steps to restore our rivers, lakes and seas to good health.

Bathing waters, as set out in the Bathing Water Regulations 2013, are designated coastal or inland waters that are used by large numbers of people for bathing. Bathing waters are one of the most visible ways in which the public interacts with the water environment. They are local assets that bring social and health benefits to communities, and it is critical that the regulations around bathing waters meet the fundamental needs of the public, and those managing bathing water sites.

We recognise that the way the public interacts with bathing waters has changed, driven by the increasing popularity of wild swimming and other water-based activities.

That is why today, DEFRA, jointly with the Welsh Government, is launching a consultation on a package of reforms to the Bathing Water Regulations 2013. These proposed changes to bathing water rules will prioritise public safety and water quality so that more people can enjoy our rivers, lakes and seas throughout the seasons. The proposed reforms will modernise the system to meet the needs of the public, including removing strict automatic de-designation, taking water quality and public safety into account when applications for new bathing waters are assessed, and removing the fixed dates of the bathing season from the regulations to allow for a more flexible approach to monitoring, extending the dates of the bathing season where necessary to better reflect when people use bathing waters. The purpose of the regulations is to ensure the protection of public health through the use of monitoring and classifications. It is the Government’s intention to pursue an increase in the designation of safe bathing water sites.

DEFRA is also seeking both public and stakeholder views on expanding the definition of bathers to include participants in water sports other than swimming, to encompass all who use bathing sites, as well as views on the introduction of multiple testing points at each bathing water. This is to gather initial views for potential longer-term considerations.

Proposed technical amendments will also bring legislation in line with modern best practice, allowing the Environment Agency to improve ways of working and improve delivery for the public.

The consultation will run this winter with a Government response to be published in the new year.

Alongside these reforms, the Government are working on other major changes to the water system. The Water (Special Measures) Bill will deliver on the Government’s commitment to put water companies under special measures, strengthening the powers of the regulators to ensure that water companies—and their executives—are firmly held to account for wrongdoing. The regulators will also be able to recover costs for a much greater range of enforcement activities.

An independent commission into the water sector and its regulation was also launched on 23 October—the largest review of the industry since privatisation. This commission forms the next stage in the Government’s long-term approach to ensuring we have a sufficiently robust and stable regulatory framework to attract the investment needed to clean up our waterways, speed up infrastructure delivery and restore public confidence in the sector. The commission will provide overarching recommendations on transforming how our water system works and cleaning up our rivers, lakes and seas for good. The bathing water reforms will tackle a discrete and technical part of the current framework.

It is through these reforms that we can begin to regain public trust, fix the system, and restore our rivers, lakes and seas for current and future generations to enjoy.

[HCWS207]