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.

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.