Dip at the Docks in Liverpool: MPs support the Clean Water Bill

Culture Secretary and Sports Minister take the plunge for clean water at Labour Conference

Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Lisa Nandy MP and Minister for Sport Stephanie Peacock MP joined around 50 MPs and conference delegates on Tuesday morning (29 September) for an early-morning swim and paddle at Queens Dock.

The event, Dip at the Docks, is hosted annually by Paddle UK, the national governing body for paddling and paddle sports, with Swim England and Surfers Against Sewage. It took place at Liverpool Watersports Centre during Labour’s Annual Conference, which runs from Sunday 27 to Wednesday 30 September.

Participants chose to either swim or paddle before heading into a busy day at conference, and the organisers used the occasion to press a simple message: people who swim, paddle, row and sail should be able to get in the water without worrying about getting ill.

Around 7.5 million people go paddling in the UK every year, and millions more swim, row and sail in open water. Water quality has a direct effect on whether people can take part in sport and physical activity, which is why the presence of the Culture Secretary and Sports Minister matters. Paddle UK is calling for water to be treated as a priority across the whole of government, not only by the departments responsible for the environment.

The government’s upcoming Clean Water Bill is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to fix the system. Paddle UK welcomes its commitments to a single integrated water regulator, an end to water companies monitoring their own pollution, and action to tackle pollution at source. As the Bill progresses, Paddle UK and its partners in the Clean Water Sports Alliance are asking for:

• a clear public health objective in the legislation that protects people who use rivers and lakes for recreation, not only those who drink the water
• reform of bathing water regulations so that paddlers, rowers and other water sports users are recognised alongside swimmers
• a voice for recreational water users in the new regulator’s regional planning
• stronger duties on water companies to provide access to rivers and lakes

Ben Seal, Head of Access and Environment at Paddle UK said:

“It meant a great deal to have the Culture Secretary and the Sports Minister in the water with us this morning. Millions of people paddle and swim across the country every year, and they deserve to know the water is safe.

‘’The Clean Water Bill is a real chance to deliver the transformational change needed to end sewage pollution, and we want to see recreational water users written into it. Clean water has to be a priority right across Government.’’