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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to undertake a coordinated response to prevent avoidable deaths due to drowning.

Responsibility for water safety and drowning prevention is shared across government, local authorities, emergency services, regulators, education partners and asset owners.

I convened a roundtable in July with ministers and representatives from across government to reinforce the importance of keeping people safe around water. I was clear that all organisations must keep working to reduce risks.

The Government recognises the importance of working collectively to reduce drowning. It supports collaborative efforts through organisations such as the National Water Safety Forum, which brings together partners to reduce water-related deaths and associated harms.

The Government will carefully consider the UK Drowning Prevention Strategy 2026–2036 to identify that we are collectively doing all we reasonably can to support this vital work.