Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the numbers of canal boats and other craft moored in canals and waterways in England and Wales; and of the numbers of boaters who sleep on them.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The responsibility to monitor or record the numbers of boats and boaters on canals and waterways in England and Wales rests with navigation authorities as they manage and administer boat registration and licensing regimes for the use of their waterways. The two largest navigation authorities are the Canal and River Trust and Environment Agency (EA). The Government has regular engagement with both authorities.
The Trust recorded 33,080 registered and unregistered boats on its waterways in its 2025 national boat survey. The Trust’s boat licensing requirements do not include the number of people per boat or whether they sleep on board. The EA records that there are just over 20,000 registered and unregistered boats on its waterways. It also does not collect information on the number of people who use the boats, including as their primary residence for sleeping purposes.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the communications between boaters and The Canal and River Trust.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Communications between boaters and the Trust are a matter for both parties. The Trust recognises the importance of communications with boaters, conducts an annual boater survey, and has published its ‘Better Boating Plan’ that sets out areas of boaters’ concerns and actions being taken to address them. The recommendations in the Independent Commission on Boat Licensing’s report published last November included improved communications with the boating community. The Trust has accepted all the recommendations and is now considering how best to implement them.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the contribution made by canals and waterways to (1) the economy, and (2) the environment and wildlife.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Our inland waterways are important for the natural environment by providing green corridors along which biodiversity can flourish. They also directly contribute to the growth of local economies, through domestic tourism and facilitating active transport links. They have a wider positive benefit for our economy and culture through providing many public benefits, including health and wellbeing, leisure and recreation uses, and industrial heritage attractions.
Defra officials meet regularly with the Trust to discuss a range of issues. The Trust publishes its annual Impact Report on its contribution to the economy, environment, and wildlife. The Environment Agency has not undertaken specific quantitative assessments of the contribution its waterways make to the economy, environment, and wildlife; however, its previous navigation plans acknowledge the benefits they bring.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the state of the infrastructure of canals and waterways in England and Wales.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The condition of the canal and waterway infrastructure is the responsibility of the navigation authorities that own them. The two largest authorities are the Canal and River Trust with 2,000 miles of waterways, and the Environment Agency (EA) with 630 miles of river navigations. The Government provides an annual grant of £52.6 million to the Trust to support its infrastructure programme, and this financial year is providing grant-in-aid of £25 million to the EA to support its navigations.
As of 31 March 2025 (latest published figures), the Trust had 81.25% of its towpaths in conditions fair to very good (target not less than 50%), 13.77% of principal assets in conditions poor to bad (target not more than 25%), and 0.58% of flood management assets (principal culverts and embankments) in conditions poor to bad (target not more than 7%). These targets form the conditional element of the annual government grant. Trust assets are subject to a regular inspection regime by accredited inspectors. Defra officials meet the Trust’s senior management team formally three times a year to discuss the Trust’s work and use of the grant funding.
EA-owned and maintained navigation assets are also inspected by accredited inspectors as part of a risk based scheduled programme. Where identified, maintenance repairs on assets below the required condition are prioritised and allocated funding according to factors including sustaining navigation, public safety, and flood risk in the event of failure.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the adequacy of flood defences in York.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Since 2016, the Environment Agency has invested £125 million of government funding on a major upgrade of the engineered defences through York, including walls and flood gates and improvements to the Foss Barrier and pumping station. The defences are designed to protect properties from a flood with a 1% probability of happening in any given year, allowing for the effects of climate change until 2039. Further climate change predictions indicate upper catchment flood alleviation measures will be required to offer York the same standard of protection past 2039.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government which English counties, if any, do not have native wild otters.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Published evidence shows European otters are present in every county in England.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of homes at risk of surface flooding, broken down by (1) those built, (2) those under construction, and (3) those with planning permission awaiting construction.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government has committed £2.65 billion over the next two years to maintain, repair and build flood defences to protect communities across the country.
The Environment Agency’s National Assessment of Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk was published in December 2024. The report estimates that 4.6 million properties are in areas at risk of surface water flooding. This report enables 8.4 million people in more than 3.1 million residential properties to access more detailed information on their local surface water flood risk.
The number of properties at risk relate to properties that are already built, not properties that are under construction or those awaiting construction. The Environment Agency does publish a list of initial objections made, on the basis of flood risk, to planning applications. This is available here: Environment Agency objections to planning applications based on flood risk and water quality - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of homes at risk of coastal flooding, broken down by (1) those built, (2) those under construction, and (3) those with planning permission awaiting construction.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency’s (EA) new national assessment of flood and coastal erosion risk in England report estimates that 2.4 million properties are in areas at risk of flooding from rivers and the sea. The EA also estimates that 4.6 million properties are in areas at risk of surface water flooding.
The number of properties at risk relate to properties that are already built, not properties that are under construction or those awaiting construction. The EA does, however, have a list of planning applications where the EA made an initial objection based on flood risk. This can be found at the gov.uk page ‘Environment Agency objections to planning applications based on flood risk and water quality’.
The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) is clear that inappropriate development in areas at risk of flooding should be avoided by directing development away from areas at highest risk, including areas at risk of coastal flooding.
Where development is necessary, and where there are no suitable sites available in areas with a lower risk of flooding, local planning authorities and developers should ensure development is appropriately flood resilient and resistant, safe for its users for the development’s lifetime, will not increase flood risk overall and will provide wider sustainability benefits.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made, if any, of the risks of human consumption of salmon bred and farmed within UK waters.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Fish and fishery products farmed for consumption in the UK must meet the requirements of food hygiene and contaminants and residues legislation. Responsibility for verifying food business operators comply with the legislation is delegated to Local Authorities who carry out official controls. The Veterinary Medicine Directorate’s National Statutory Surveillance plan monitors residues of veterinary medicines, prohibited substances, and various contaminants in products of animal origin, including farmed salmon. The Food Standards Agency is not aware of any evidence to indicate that fish farmed in the UK are unsafe to eat.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the flood defences on the Somerset Levels.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Somerset Levels and Moors is a man-made managed drainage system created over many centuries. The area has always been prone to flooding due to its low-lying nature, much of the land sitting below the highest tide levels, and having riverbanks raised above ground level.
Following one of the wettest winters on record, flood risk assets in the Somerset Levels and Moors have, once again, been significantly tested. The Environment Agency (EA) routinely inspects its flood risk assets and undertakes additional post-incident inspections. It reports that 91% of those assets, in this area of interest, are at or above their specified condition.
As with most winters, there are repairs required after high river levels and the associated overflow. The EA is delivering a programme of repairs to reinstate these damaged flood risk assets, bringing them back to target condition.