In 2022 Defra received 16 bathing water applications for inland sites. Three of these sites were designated as bathing waters: Rutland Water Whitwell Creek, Rutland Water Sykes Lane and an area of the River Deben Estuary at Waldringfield, Suffolk.

Since 2010, there have been de-designations of bathing waters in the following Environment Agency (EA) areas in England:

Several bathing waters were also de-designated before 2010 in the following EA areas: Alnmouth in the North East; Flamborough North Landing and Earls Dyke in Yorkshire; Lowestoft Gunton Denes in East Anglia; Poole Harbour Sandbanks in Wessex; Redgate and Gunwalloe Cove in Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

Most of these sites were de-designated due to low numbers of bathers and following an application to Defra, usually by the local authority. In some cases, sites were de-designated because the bathing water quality was classified as ‘Poor’ for five consecutive years. The Bathing Water Regulations 2013 (regulation 13) require sites to be de-designated in this circumstance and for permanent advice against bathing, in relation to at least one whole bathing season, to be issued. There can be many reasons for a ‘Poor’ bathing water classification, including run-off from agricultural land, sewage impacts and local activities. An application can be made to Defra to redesignate a site that has been de-designated as bathing water should the site meet the eligibility criteria set out in the bathing waters application guidance on GOV.UK.

Responsibility for public access to and maintenance of swimming pools lies at local authority level.

In recognition of the benefits of physical activity, including swimming, and the challenges facing the sector, we are providing over £60 million of support for swimming pools. This will help ease cost pressures facing public swimming pool providers and help make facilities sustainable in the long-term through investment in energy efficiency measures. The funding is being delivered in partnership with Sport England and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, following extensive consultation with local authorities and the sector.

Swimming and water safety is a vital life skill, which is why it is a mandatory part of the primary PE National Curriculum. The Department for Education also administers schemes to ensure the provision of lessons and sports facilities for children, such as through the PE and Sport Premium and the Opening School Facilities (OSF) programme.

We know that active people are fitter, happier and healthier - which is why in our new Sport Strategy - 'Get Active’ - we set out an ambitious strategy to boost our national health by getting 3.5 million extra active people by 2030. This includes bold targets to reach communities with the lowest levels of physical activity. Swimming can play an important role in achieving these targets, particularly among children.

In recognition of the benefits of physical activity, including swimming, and the challenges facing the sector, we are providing over £60 million of support for swimming pools. This will help ensure the long term sustainability of pools, so that children from all backgrounds can continue to access them.

Sport England’s Active Lives Survey for Children and Young People collects annual data on the engagement in, and attitudes to, sport and physical activity. The release of the 2022-23 Active Lives data for Children and Young People is scheduled for 7 December.

Sport England’s Active Lives Survey for Children and Young People collects annual data on the engagement in, and attitudes to, sport and physical activity. The release of the 2022-23 Active Lives data for Children and Young People is scheduled for 7 December.

The Active Lives Survey captures swimming capability based on whether children can: swim; tread water; swim 25 metres unaided; and swim 200 metres unaided (the latter capturing years 7-11 only).

The survey informs us that in the academic year 2021/22:

• Over 3 million infant and junior children could swim

• 2.7 million could tread water

• 1.8 million could swim 25 metres unaided

• 1.5 million secondary school children could swim 200 metres unaided

The Government is committed to championing disability sport at the highest levels, with continued support for Paralympic sports through UK Sport funding.

The UK Government currently provides support to elite athletes through funding our Arm’s Length Body, UK Sport. UK Sport in turn uses this funding to support athletes with potential to achieve success in Olympic and Paralympic sports.

Sport England have also agreed to work with UK Deaf Sport to help to identify a small number of governing bodies that, on a trial basis, will have their talent pathways supported to be as inclusive to D/deaf athletes as possible. This work with Sport England will help open up opportunities at all levels for D/deaf people.

The Bathing Water Regulations require local authorities to display information about the bathing water quality at designated sites, enabling people to make informed decisions before swimming. Compliance with bathing water signs is improving. Defra’s data for 2022 shows that 88% of all bathing waters in England had signage displaying the required information – this is compared with 59% in 2017. Defra continues to engage directly with local authorities that may not be displaying appropriate signage to ensure they understand their responsibilities under the regulations and to improve compliance.

There is no statutory requirement for warnings to be displayed after samples confirm a high level of faecal indicator organisms in the water. However, at bathing waters where there are predictable factors that are shown to influence water quality, the Environment Agency warns bathers of any potential periods of short-term reduced water quality through its Pollution Risk Forecasting system.

The Environment Agency is the public body responsible for informing the public of bathing water test results. The Environment Agency provides this information on the Swimfo website: https://environment.data.gov.uk/bwq/profiles/.

The results of water quality sampling by the Environment Agency at designated bathing waters in England are displayed on the Environment Agency’s Swimfo website: https://environment.data.gov.uk/bwq/profiles/. Local authorities are required to provide information about each bathing water through signage in the vicinity of the site, including the site’s current bathing water quality classification and any advice against bathing which has been issued there. Signs often include a link to water sampling information on the Swimfo website.

Defra will continue to reflect on changes in how and where people use bathing waters, including new evidence where it exists around when and where people use bathing waters, to feed into future bathing water policy development.

The number of bathing waters in England meeting the ‘excellent’ (highest) standard in 2022 was 72.1%, which is the highest since new more stringent standards were introduced in 2015.

This is an increase of nearly 21 percentage points compared to 2010, when only 51.3% of bathing waters met the highest standard then in force. The Environment Agency works closely with local stakeholders at all designated bathing waters to drive water quality improvements.

During the bathing water season (May to September) the Environment Agency regularly monitors the bathing water quality at every designated site, resulting in the annual classifications. Alongside this the Environment Agency also issues daily pollution risk forecasts and warnings throughout the bathing water season, advising when there is likely to be reduced water quality. Defra will continue to reflect on changes in how and where people use bathing waters, including new evidence and technologies where these exist, to feed into future bathing water policy development.

Under the Environment Act 2021, the Government will require sewerage undertakers wholly or mainly in England to report on discharges from storm overflows in near-real time by spring 2025. Furthermore, in April, we also launched our consultation on Continuous Water Quality Monitoring and Event Duration Monitoring. This outlines the Government’s proposals to enhance the monitoring of storm overflow and final effluent discharges. The Government’s response to this consultation was issued on 14 September 2023. Water companies are now taking forward plans to implement this programme from 2025.

The Secretary of State has not had any discussions with the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland on consultations with local authorities on the designation of bathing waters on private land.

Whether she plans to support the uptake of outdoor swimming.

My hon. Friend is absolutely right to highlight the importance of swimming pools and lidos. We announced the swimming pool fund to help those that have been particularly struggling with high energy costs. Sport England also plays a vital role in working with local authorities on managing sustainable facilities, and we will shortly publish our new sports strategy, which will set continued commitments in this area.

The Beccles lido does great work in promoting outdoor swimming in the Waveney area, but it and other lidos have been particularly hard hit by high energy costs and long-term fixed-price contracts, often arranged by rogue energy brokers. The swimming pool fund is extremely welcome, but I urge my right hon. Friend to work with lidos to put in place a long-term plan for their future.

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right to highlight the importance of the quality of outdoor waters, and a lot of work is done to educate children in water safety. I have not had the chance to speak to anybody in Northern Ireland yet, but I understand that I may well be going there during the recess, so I will take the opportunity to do just that.

Wild swimming conjures up all sorts of things in my mind—probably more emphasis on the wild.

I thank the hon. Member for Waveney (Peter Aldous) for the question and the Minister for his response. Growing up in Ballywalter in the ’60s—also the age I am right now—there were no swimming pools, and we always used the sea. It is important that water has the quality and cleanliness to allow people to swim, so has the Minister spoken to any of the councils or authorities in Northern Ireland to ensure that our waters, including Strangford lough and the sea off Ballywalter, are of a standard that enables people to swim without any fear?