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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many people have been prosecuted for angling illegally in Lancashire in each of the last five years.

The Environment Agency manages the delivery of the rod licence service as part of its National Enforcement Service. A team (Enforcement Once) based in Warrington, Cheshire, administers sales and enforcement service for around 1 million anglers each year, generating c£21 million in income that is used to deliver improvements for fisheries and the environment.

Locally based enforcement officers undertake approximately 65,000 compliance checks each years as part of an integrated fisheries service, that results in approximately 3,000 sanctions, ranging from advice and guidance through to prosecution, being completed each year.

The data below shows the number of successful prosecutions of anglers for rod and line offences for waters in Lancashire county.