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

To ask His Majesty's Government what funding they have made available to protect churchyards from coastal erosion where (1) the church is of historical significance, or (2) family members of those recently buried in the churchyard reside in the local community.

The Government is investing £5.6 billion between 2021 and 2027 to better protect communities across England from flooding and coastal erosion. This investment includes a record £5.2 billion capital investment programme, as well as the £200 million Flood and Coastal Innovation Programme (FCIP).

Schemes are valued and prioritised using the Government’s Partnership Funding policy, with the amount of funding a scheme can attract dependent on the damages it will avoid and the benefits it will deliver. The impact on heritage assets and churchyards are included as part of this calculation.

In areas where a heritage asset is assessed to be invaluable, only schemes protecting the asset can be shortlisted.

The Third National Adaptation Programme details how Government and its agencies plan to protect cultural heritage from a changing climate, including implications for our coastal heritage due to flooding and coastal erosion.

Guidance on managing the impacts of coastal erosion on heritage features can be found on Historic England's website, alongside details of available grants for heritage.