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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the guidance entitled Designate a bathing water: guidance on how to apply, published on 3 July 2023.

The updated bathing water guidance for England, published in July 2023, makes applying for bathing water designation clearer and more streamlined for applicants.

The main changes to the designation guidance were:

• There must be at least 100 bathers a day at the site during the bathing season.
• Applicants must carry out user surveys on two days during the bathing season (15 May-30 September) to provide evidence of this.
• There must be access to toilet facilities within a short distance of up to 500m of the proposed bathing water site.
• Clearer guidance on seeking local views on proposals to designate sites as bathing waters.
• The introduction of an application form to make it easier for people to prepare their applications.

Defra engages with a range of stakeholders on bathing waters and welcomes views on the application guidance.