Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to consult on the proposal in Wider Reform 1 to redefine multiple watercrafts and others as ‘bathers’.

Defra and the Welsh Government are currently running a six-week consultation on proposed reforms to the Bathing Water Regulations 2013, which closes on 23 December. In this consultation, we are calling for evidence on a wider reform for potential future development, regarding the clarification and expansion of the definition of ‘bathers’. We are seeking views on whether a wider range of water users should be considered, and if so, what other types of users should be included and how their needs can be balanced against current users. We encourage all parties to respond to the consultation.