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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps are being taken under the North West river basin district river basin management plan to implement further action to work with farmers to develop inclusive catchment farm groups to work cooperatively to reduce pollution from agriculture through a number of schemes including countryside stewardship in the Ribble catchment.

The Catchment Based Approach (CaBA) is a partnership initiative established in order to improve our water environment. The Catchment Partnerships work to agree and deliver the strategic priorities for the river catchment and to support the Environment Agency (EA) in developing an appropriate River Basin Management Plan.

One key outcome for the Ribble catchment is establishing groups which provide training for farmers and help them to access support such as Countryside Stewardship funding for farm management improvements, aimed at reducing agricultural pollution.