Selaine Saxby MP attended the launch event, sponsored by The Wetsuit Factory, to support a new report from the All Party Parliamentary Group for Water Safety authored by the Royal Life Saving Society UK and supported by the National Water Safety Forum.
Selaine Saxby, MP for North Devon, said:
“I am glad to be supporting the annual Drowning Prevention Week campaign by attending the reception sponsored by The Wetsuit Factory in Westminster. North Devon has so many lovely beaches and I want to ensure that everyone stays safe around open water this summer.”
“The importance of water safety cannot be understated, and it was informative to hear the data from the Water Accident Incident Database to provide the Government with evidence backed data and recommendations on how the approach to drowning prevention can be improved.”
Selaine showed her support and met with representatives from organisations such as RLSS UK, RNLI, Speedo, Water Babies, RoSPA, the National Child Mortality Database, the Maritime Coastal Agency, and key companies from the aquatics industry who contributed to the report. Former professional swimmer, Michael Gunning, was also in attendance as a key speaker supporting the launch of the campaign.
The report makes several recommendations for preventing drowning incidents which include innovative solutions to better deliver school swimming; mandating that every child should have a class based water safety lesson at each key stage; and investing in initiatives to address the increase in child drowning fatalities.
The report was launched in the week of RLSS UK’s annual Drowning Prevention Week, where the charity aims to educate children and their families on water safety to ensure they are able to enjoy water safely ahead of the summer holidays.
Drowning Prevention Week provides free resources to families to provide education for all. Visit www.rlss.org.uk/DPW for further information.
