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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Pursuant to the answer provided on the 2nd March to question 115773, to provide an update on the evidence review to consider the environmental and public health implications of a change to expand the definition of bather to include other recreation water users.

The Bathing Water Regulations were updated in November 2025 and implementation is underway. Defra, the Welsh Government, the Environment Agency and Natural Resources Wales have jointly held two stakeholder workshops, with follow-up engagement ongoing. Defra continues to review evidence on the environmental and public health implications of expanding the definition of a bather.