Written question asked by James McMurdock (Independent (affiliation)) on Thursday, 25 June 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 29 June 2026. It was answered by Mary Creagh (Labour) on Thursday, 2 July 2026 on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Blue Planet Fund

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to her Department's press release entitled UK backs communities on the ocean's front line with £13.9 million investment, published on 17 June 2026, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the additional investment announced through the Blue Planet Fund on the UK.

Answer: Defra appraises the potential impact of all investments through business cases using Green Book methodologies. Defra has a comprehensive Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning system in place to continually assess the performance of its Official Development Assistance programmes. The outcomes of Blue Planet Fund programmes are monitored using a range of metrics, such as the International Climate Finance and Defra International Key Performance Indicators where results are published annually. These indicators include “funding mobilised for climate change purposes”, “area under sustainable management practices”, and “people benefitting from strengthened or new livelihoods”. For example, the Blue Planet Fund has brought over 410,000 ha under sustainable management practices. The Department has commissioned an independent evaluation of the Blue Planet Fund which will go beyond indicator results to explore in-depth topics such as value for money and sustainability. This includes some country-level case studies.

Secondary information