Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what criteria is being used to identify areas as critical mineral areas in Cornwall.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
“Potential for Critical Raw Material Prospectivity in the UK” was a 2023 study undertaken by the Critical Minerals Intelligence Centre, sponsored by the Department for Business and Trade and delivered by the British Geological Survey. This report identifies target areas of potential for critical minerals within the UK, including in Cornwall. As a preliminary assessment, its findings do not mean that the prospective areas identified will necessarily be targeted for exploration and mining. The Government is working with the British Geological Survey to understand any possible next steps.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential implications for its policies of locally developed bathing water frameworks that differ from national and international standards.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency has an ongoing statutory duty to monitor the water quality at designated bathing water sites in England in line with the Bathing Water Regulations 2013. I would encourage any local authority that is interested in developing a local framework to share their plans with Defra officials so that Defra can understand any interaction with national legislation.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions her Department has had with Torbay Council on its development of a localised bathing water framework.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Chief Scientist of the Environment Agency was present at the Centre for Resilience in Environment, Water and Waste (CREWW) ‘Safe to Swim Forum’ in September 2025, where the Director of Operations for Devon and Torbay combined County Authority presented on the economic and social importance of bathing waters in the region.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
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 bathing water quality standards are not reduced.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to improving the quality of our coastal waters, rivers and lakes for the benefit of the environment and everyone who uses it.
The Environment Agency’s practice for monitoring water quality at bathing water sites reflects the European Commission’s Bathing Water Directive and the World Health Organisation’s recommendations for management of recreational waters. There are no plans to change this.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department is taking to ensure full transparency regarding meetings Ministers and senior officials have held with Palantir Technologies; and whether records of those meetings are held centrally.
Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Government departments are required to publish details of Ministers’ and certain senior officials', including Permanent Secretaries and Director Generals, meetings with external individuals and organisations every quarter.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to maintain bathing water quality standards in line with international benchmarks, including those of the World Health Organisation and the Blue Flag programme.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to improving the quality of our coastal waters, rivers and lakes for the benefit of the environment and everyone who uses it.
The Environment Agency’s practice for monitoring water quality at bathing water sites reflects the European Commission’s Bathing Water Directive and the World Health Organisation’s recommendations for management of recreational waters. There are no plans to change this.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department is taking steps to help support the expansion of real-time bathing water quality monitoring.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government introduced the Water Special Measures Act (2025), requiring real-time monitoring at every emergency overflow so the public can see what is happening locally, including in many bathing waters.100% of storm overflows have been fitted with event duration monitors (EDMs) since the end of 2023, and since the 1st of January 2025, water companies have been required to publish this data in near real-time.
The Environment Agency’s existing practices for monitoring and classification of bathing waters in England are based on the World Health Organisation’s recommendations for the management of recreational waters and exceed the minimum requirements of the Bathing Water Directive at all Bathing Waters.
All sample results are made available to the public as soon as they are analysed via the Swimfo website, so the public can make informed decisions about bathing. Throughout the bathing season, the EA also makes daily pollution risk forecasts for bathing waters where water quality may be temporarily reduced due to factors such as heavy rainfall, wind or the tide.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
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 potential impact of local bathing water monitoring frameworks developed by local authorities on national policy.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency has an ongoing statutory duty to monitor the water quality at designated bathing water sites in England in line with the Bathing Water Regulations 2013. I would encourage any local authority that is interested in developing a local framework to share their plans with Defra officials so that Defra can understand any interaction with national legislation.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department plans to increase the involvement of voluntary and citizen science groups in bathing water monitoring programmes.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency has carried out a number of initiatives involving citizen scientists. For bathing waters it has recently rolled out the ‘Hello lamppost’ initiative where people can scan QR codes at specific bathing waters to provide it with information on the number of bathers at that location as well as get access to customised AI driven responses to any questions they have. It is also considering how to develop the Blueprint initiative which allows anyone with a smartphone to provide it with information linked to the water body they are at.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions has she had with voluntary organisations and citizen science groups play in monitoring bathing water.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency has carried out a number of initiatives involving citizen scientists. For bathing waters it has recently rolled out the ‘Hello lamppost’ initiative where people can scan QR codes at specific bathing waters to provide it with information on the number of bathers at that location as well as get access to customised AI driven responses to any questions they have. It is also considering how to develop the Blueprint initiative which allows anyone with a smartphone to provide it with information linked to the water body they are at.