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Written question asked by Ben Everitt (Conservative) on Thursday, 14 April 2022, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 20 April 2022. It was answered by Rebecca Pow (Conservative) on Monday, 25 April 2022 on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Inland Waterways: Safety

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Government has undertaken an assessment of the cost of (a) maintaining and (b) improving the resilience of the Canal and River Trust’s waterway network to safeguard public safety in response to climate change.

Answer

Defra provides the Canal and River Trust with an annual grant of £52 million, under a 15-year agreement signed when the Trust was established in 2012. The grant may be used for the Trust’s charitable objects and the permitted activities set out in the formal Grant Agreement document, which is published on the Government website. This includes maintenance of the canal network infrastructure. Around £10 million of the annual grant is conditional on the Trust meeting key performance indicators covering waterway safety, improvement of towpath condition, and flood defence and mitigation. The Trust’s waterways maintenance expenditure is available in their Annual Report and Accounts, which is published on the Trust’s website.

Climate change impact is being considered as part of Defra’s current review of the Government grant required by the Grant Agreement, to inform a decision about any future funding for the Trust from 2027.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
154485
Session
2021-22
Subjects
Costs Climate change Inland waterways Safety Repairs and maintenance
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk