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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to help reduce the risk of children contracting Shigella infections while paddling at beaches in the North West.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Designated bathing waters display signs indicating the quality of water for bathing, ranging from poor to excellent. These classifications are updated annually based on regular water quality sampling taken over the preceding bathing season (15 May -30 September).

The Environment Agency (EA) do not test for Shigella in their samples, but test for E.Coli and intestinal enterococci at Bathing Water sites as these organisms are the most reliable indicators of faecal contamination. Additional information on water quality and bathing advice is provided daily on the EA’s website Swimfo during the bathing season to help determine if it’s safe to swim.

Where bathing water quality is not consistently excellent the EA makes pollution risk forecasts each day using an analysis of previous samples and notifies the public through the Swimfo website and on signage at the site.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the causes of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli infections linked to seawater exposure at beaches in the North West.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) undertakes routine monitoring of notifiable diseases and causative agents which includes E. coli. There is no evidence of Shiga-toxin producing E. coli infections linked to exposure to recreational waters at beaches in the North West.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what data her Department holds on the incidence of Shigella infections associated with recreational water use at UK beaches; and what assessment he has made on how trends in the North West compare with other regions.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) undertakes routine monitoring of notifiable diseases and causative agents which includes Shigella species. There is no evidence of Shigella linked to exposure to seawater in the North West.

The Environment Agency (EA) collects up to 20 samples at all 451 designated bathing waters during the bathing water season (15 May – 30 September). These samples are tested for E.Coli and intestinal enterococci at Bathing Water sites as these organisms are the most reliable indicators of faecal contamination.

Existing practices for monitoring and classification of bathing waters in the UK mirror the European Commission’s Bathing Water Directive which is based on the World Health Organisation’s recommendations for management of recreational waters. Current EA monitoring exceeds the minimum requirements of the Bathing Water Directive at all Bathing Waters.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of failures in sewage treatment, storm overflow management, or water quality monitoring on the level cases of Shigella-causing infections among children at beaches in the North West.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The department is taking action to rebuild the water network to clean up our rivers, lakes and seas. For example, in one of the largest infrastructure projects in this country’s history, £104 billion is being invested to upgrade crumbling pipes and sewage treatment works across the country. Water companies are investing over £11 billion in PR24, a record amount, to improve nearly 3,000 storm overflows across England and Wales over the next five years. For England, this equates to over £10 billion to improve over 2,500 storm overflows.

Our landmark Water (Special Measures) Act will also introduce independent monitoring of every sewerage outlet, with water companies required to publish real-time data for all emergency overflows.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) undertakes routine monitoring of notifiable diseases and causative agents which includes Shigella species. There is no evidence of Shigella linked to exposure to recreational waters at beaches in the North West.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to ensure that (a) parents and (b) local authorities are adequately informed of the risks of Shigella-causing bacterial infections from paddling at beaches in the North West.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Environment Agency (EA) analyses samples at least monthly, from every bathing water throughout the bathing water season. However, in practice, the EA samples more frequently than this to reduce the risk of misclassification.

The EA publishes sampling information during the bathing season on Swimfo to inform the general public of water quality and provide daily pollution risk warnings. This includes details on all bathing waters, including classifications, pollution sources, and seasonal water quality results.

Local Authorities use this information to provide bathing water quality information on physical signs at each designated bathing water, including their formal classification and a link to online details. The EA samples are tested for different bacteria including E.Coli and intestinal enterococci as the most reliable indictors of faecal contamination, but this does not include Shigella.