22/07/2023

On Tuesday 18 July the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Water Safety took place in Parliament.

MP for Clacton and current APPG Chair, Giles Watling, was joined by Sir Peter Bottomley MP (Worthing West), Rob Butler MP (Aylesbury), Natalie Elphickle MP (Dover), Peter Gibson MP (Darlington), and Liz Twist MP (Blaydon) at the APPG’s AGM, during which the Chair and the officers were elected.

Giles Watling MP will stay on as Chair of the APPG while Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi MP, Stephen Metcalfe MP, Lord Storey, and Alison Thewliss MP have been re-elected as officers.

The APPG meets to discuss ways to prevent drowning by better integrating water safety into the education system. Following the recent publication of the APPG’s National Drowning Report UK 2022, RLSS UK Charity Director Lee Heard attended the APPG to encourage MPs and Peers to promote water safety messaging in their constituencies throughout the summer.

Giles Watling MP commented: “I am delighted to be re-elected once again as the Chairman of the APPG. Water safety is a cause dear to my heart as I am a yachtsman and keen swimmer in the North Sea, and I once served with the brave souls at the RNLI. We’ve had some tragic incidents in Clacton and we must try to ensure that this does not happen again.”

Lee added: “It was positive to re-establish the Water Safety APPG. During the previous term, the APPG was able to launch the inaugural National Drowning Report under the guidance of Chair Giles Watling. Continuing the APPG ignites our ability to work with politicians as members to accelerate the report’s recommendations.”

View the Drowning Report