Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000,wewould like to request the following information regarding water safety within your local authority:

1. Responsibility for Water Safety
o Is there a specific officer, department, group or committee responsible for water safety within your authority: No, not across the whole borough but individual officers would be responsible for water safety on areas under their jurisdiction. The LLFA (Lead Local Flood Authority) does not hold specific responsibility for general water safety. Our remit is limited to flood risk management, covering surface water, groundwater, and ordinary watercourses. There is no dedicated water safety officer, group, or committee within the LLFA.
o If yes, please provide the role title(s), department name, or the name of the group/committee: For our Countryside Service it would be Simon Bartlam, Countryside Officer, Dinton Pastures. There is no dedicated water safety officer, group, or committee within the LLFA.

2. Water Safety Policy
o Does your local authority currently have a water safety policy in place: The LLFA and Countryside Services does not have a specific water safety policy. However, where Drainage Strategies or designs incorporate open water features, these are reviewed in accordance with existing best practice guidance — specifically, the CIRIA SuDS Manual (Amenity and Safety Design Criteria) — to ensure safe surface water management systems.
o If yes, please provide a copy of the policy.

3. Open Water Risk Assessments
o Has your local authority reviewed its open water risk assessments in the last 24 months: Yes, Countryside Services do annually, covering all activities associated with open water inc sites, activities etc . The LLFA does hold open water risk assessments that are reviewed annually.

4. Water Safety Group or Partnership
o Does your local authority have a designated water safety group or partnership: Countryside Services have advised, no, not that they are aware of although we have annual reservoir consultants visit our designated sites to discuss site maintenance/ management which is a statutory obligation for larger open waters under the reservoir act . The LLFA does not have a designated water safety group or partnership.
o If yes, please provide the name of the group and any available terms of reference, remit, or purpose documents.

5. Water Safety Campaigns
o Has your authority run any water safety campaigns in the last three years: Countryside Services suggest there is an annual campaign, each summer we are heavily involved in advertising , no swimming/ diving / tombstoning , or allowing dogs to swim in lakes due to water quality so I would suggest this is an annual campaign. The LLFA has not delivered any water safety campaigns within the last three years.
o If yes, please briefly outline the topics or issues covered.

6. Targeted Water Safety Information
o Does your authority provide water safety information to specific groups (e.g. schools, recreational water users, youth groups): The LLFA does not provide targeted water safety information to specific groups such as schools or recreational water users.
o If yes, please specify which groups receive this information: Countryside Services have targeted local schools in the past regarding water safety but other than that , we would use site signage, facebook , Instagram etc plus our own web sites.