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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the timetable is for the publication of the Water Framework Directive water body classifications.

During the Coronavirus emergency, the Environment Agency (EA) has prioritised activities critical to preventing serious harm to people or the environment, or to supporting responses to major incidents. The EA does not, therefore, currently have a release date for the Water Framework Directive water body classifications. The EA is considering this as part of its planning for the ‘restart’ phase of the Coronavirus emergency and will publish the classifications as soon as it reasonably can.