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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 2 March 2020 to Question 21293, for what reasons the most recent navigational risk assessment in relation to oyster farm activity in the Whitstable area has not been published to the same timescale as the previous risk assessment of the site which took place in 2017.

The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) is currently undertaking enquiries into ongoing oyster farm activity in Whitstable. The latest navigational risk assessment is considered material evidence which is informing part of these ongoing enquiries and at this stage it would not be appropriate to release the report into the public domain.