Local authority policies
One of the key objectives of Scotland’s Drowning Prevention Strategy is to:
develop water safety across Scotland’s 32 local authority areas and promote the development of water safety policies
Within this, there are two key activities:
- Encourage all local authorities to develop a water safety policy
- Support local authorities in the development of a water safety policy
In 2023, RoSPA released "Local Authority Approaches to Managing Water Safety- A 10-year comparative analysis". This was 10 year follow-on study from the original research, which took place in Scotland in 2013. It also follows the five year follow-on study in 2018:“Local Authority Approaches to Managing Water Safety – Scotland Five Years on” and showed an improved picture of water safety.
Water Safety Scotland hosts policy workshops annually on creating a Water Safety Policy and most recently in January 2025 – released along with the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents – Water Safety Policy: A guide.
This guide provides step by step suggestions on how to create a water safety policy.
