Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many nature-based flood defence projects have been fully-funded by his Department in the last five years.
Between 2015 and 2021 Defra funded around 130 projects which included nature-based solutions to reduce flood and coastal erosion risk. In addition to Government financial support, many of the projects benefitted from financial and in-kind contributions from project partners and stakeholders.
We will be undertaking an assessment of the benefits of the 2015-21 Capital Investment Programme linked to its intended social, economic and environmental impacts. This will help us understand what was achieved and will provide evidence to improve future programmes and policies. There will be a report in 2021.