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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the effects of raw sewage discharges on local economies.

Defra has not carried out a formal assessment specifically on the effects of raw sewage discharges on local economies. However, our published impact assessment acknowledges and describes the potential scale of benefits attributable to widespread improvements in coastal bathing water condition or preventing its deterioration.