If there was ever a summer to be living next to the sea then this summer so far is it. Even I've braved the waters at Castle Beach this year. A still-slightly-chilly sea is reason enough for many to not take a dip—and add the potential for sewage overspills and not everyone is enjoying the glorious sunshine as they might. We need to feel like our waters are safe to receive us all year round, and that's something that this government is working towards.

Last week, I met with the secretary of state for the environment, Steve Reed. He came down to see our Cornish beaches and talk water.

We held a meeting with grassroots water campaigners, sea swimmers, charities like the Wave Project and Plastic Free Falmouth, Cornwall Council’s cabinet member for the environment and the council officer running the making Space for Sand project.

We had wide ranging conversations covering extending the bathing water designation period, coastal erosion and flooding and what we are doing to work with rather than against nature in Cornwall, and of course, the water industry.

This government has taken giant steps in the last 12 months on this issue. I have sat on so many select committee meetings questioning water company CEOs on their bonuses, salaries, underinvestment and creaking infrastructure. It was refreshing that the first thing the Environment Secretary did after the election was to mandate that money earmarked for investment could only be spent on that and then for me to sit on the Water (Special Measures) Bill committee and almost immediately see the results when the Secretary of State removed bonuses for water bosses when they didn't hit their targets.

Steve Reed's visit comes in the wake of this Labour government announcing plans to consult on the abolishment of Ofwat in the biggest overhaul of water for a generation. A new regulator will take responsibility of water functions, ending complexity that gets in the way of delivering for customers. These changes will halve levels of pollution in Britain’s waterways by 2030.

We are the only party with a proper plan for water. The Conservatives left the industry in absolute tatters and oversaw funding cuts to the Environment Agency that led to a staggering drop in enforcement activity against the water companies and polluters. Reform are uncharacteristically calling for mass nationalisation costing billions. We have a real plan and it will result in change.

We should be seeing the start of that change in the form of investment in Falmouth this autumn. Work will begin on clearing up sewage overspills onto Gyllyngvase and Swanpool beaches and replacing infrastructure across the town, at last.

There has been further good news for our seas, and the industries that rely on them. Before Parliament closed for summer recess there was positive movement for sustainable oyster fishing in Cornwall. In response to a recent parliamentary question I raised and years of work from the Fal Fishery Cooperative CIC and others, Fishing Minister Daniel Zeichner confirmed that DEFRA has approved a proposal from the Cornwall Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority (IFCA) to increase the minimum landing size for Fal oysters. Further engagement with local stakeholders will follow. This is a great step toward protecting oyster stocks and supporting long-term sustainability in the Fal fishery.