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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the (a) ability of river users to safely navigate the Thames river and (b) potential economic impact of the proportion of navigation assets along the non-tidal Thames that are below their target condition.

(a) The safety of river users navigating the non-tidal Thames is a priority for the Environment Agency (EA), although it remains the responsibility of the master of their vessel to ensure the safety of it and everyone on board. The EA have measures in place to ensure the safety of river users which include regular inspections and maintenance of assets, marking obstructions and hazards in the channel. The hydraulic locks on the Thames also have a ‘public power’ setting which reduces the speed that the locks fills or empties, to ensure that they can be safely operated by the public when there is no Lock & Weir Keeper on duty.

(b) The EA engages regularly with businesses operating on the River Thames. The EA is developing a strategic management plan for assets on its navigable waterways. This plan looks to set out the performance of its assets and identify the investment required to maintain these assets to deliver that performance at an acceptable level of risk. Although some assets are currently classed as below required condition this does not necessarily mean they are inoperable.