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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Written Statement of 10 July 2023 on Future funding for the Canal and River Trust, HCWS924, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the progress the Canal and River Trust has made in securing alternative sources of funding.

Since it was established as a charity independent of Government in 2012 with the clear objective of reducing reliance on Government funding and moving towards greater self-sufficiency, the C&RT’s total income has grown by 11% between 2013/14 and 2022/23, while the proportion of that from the Government grant has remained relatively stable over this period at around 24%. Examples of C&RT’s alternative sources of alternative income in this period include a near-300% increase in charitable donations, a 14% increase in charitable activities income, a 9% increase in trading activity income (boat licences, mooring fees, utilities easements, etc), and a 3.5% increase in investment returns from the investment portfolio endowed by the Government to the C&RT in 2012 that is currently worth over £1 billion.