Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs written question – answered at on 4 November 2025.
Simon Opher
Labour, Stroud
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to consult with recreational user groups during the development of the proposed white paper on water reform.
Emma Hardy
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Government is considering the approach to improving access to nature, including for recreational water users, and is committed to working with stakeholders as this develops.
Extensive consultation with stakeholders took place during the Independent Water Commission’s review of the water sector. The government will continue to engage key stakeholders as it develops its full policy response to the recommendations.
A new partnership between Government, the sector, investors and communities will deliver the change the public expects.
Yes1 person thinks so
No1 person thinks not
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Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
A document issued by the Government laying out its policy, or proposed policy, on a topic of current concern.Although a white paper may occasion consultation as to the details of new legislation, it does signify a clear intention on the part of a government to pass new law. This is a contrast with green papers, which are issued less frequently, are more open-ended and may merely propose a strategy to be implemented in the details of other legislation.
More from wikipedia here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_paper
