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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much funding has been allocated in the current spending period for river and coastal habitat restoration.

The “current spending period” is taken to mean the 2025/26 financial year.

The Environment Agency (EA) was allocated several funds in 2025/26 that directly contribute to the restoration of river and coastal habitats:

• £10.9 million Water Environment Improvement Fund (WEIF)
• £3.3 million Flood Investment programme: Habitat Compensation and Restoration Programme (HCRP)*
• £8.6m Flood Investment programme: Environmental Statutory Allowance (ESA) scheme

£12.6m was also allocated to the Mining Remediation Authority and the Environment Agency for the Water and Abandoned Metal Mines (WAMM) Programme.

*Note: the figure is only as per the 25/26 FCERM consented programme and is not yet audited by finance, therefore subject to change.

The EA is working with partners to achieve the Restoring Meadow, Marsh and Reef (ReMeMaRe) programme mission and Environmental Improvement Plan Commitment to restore 15% of saltmarsh, seagrass and native oyster reef in England by 2043. Defra has boosted the capacity of ReMeMaRe by providing £130,000 this financial year towards a programme office which is supporting a pipeline of practical restoration projects for those habitats.