Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the change in the level of the Canal and River Trust’s grant settlement since 2017 on the safety and integrity of inland waterways.

The current 15-year Government grant provided to the Canal and River Trust was adjusted for inflation for the first 10 years between 2012 and 2022, with the agreement clearly stating that the final five years of the grant from 2022 to 2027 would be capped at the 2022 level, which is £52.6 million a year. This represented 22% of the Trust’s total 2024/25 income of £232 million. The majority of its funding is from commercial and charitable sources, including its £1billion investment endowment. The Trust continues to have the agreed objective of reducing reliance on Government funding and progressively moving towards greater financial self-sufficiency by developing alternative income streams.

A comprehensive review of the grant funding in 2022 concluded that there was a case for continued Government funding, and the new 10-year grant of £401 million between 2027 and 2037 will continue to support the Trust.