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

To ask His Majesty's Government how many Green Recovery Challenge Fund Round 1 and 2 projects underwent independent auditing or verification of reported environmental outcomes, and how many of those audits identified discrepancies or inflated reporting by grant recipients.

The Green Recovery Challenge Fund (GRCF) was an £80 million fund over two rounds to support nature recovery and conservation across England between 2020 and 2023. It was developed by the last government in response to COVID-19 and administered on behalf of Defra by the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF). Comprehensive independent evaluation reports for both rounds are available on the NLHF website.

NLHF does not monitor the survival of trees planted under the GRCF post project completion.

Round 1 of the GRCF was heavily over-subscribed. There was a rigorous selection process, to ensure the projects selected for grant funding represented value for money. This included having robust project plans including planting and maintenance, and possessing the necessary skills, capabilities and track record to deliver projects effectively. Projects were required to follow all relevant regulatory requirements as a condition of funding.

From data provided by grantees, we have estimated a cost per tree planted in Round 1 of approximately £5.