Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the written Ministerial Statement of 28 October 2024 on Social and Affordable Housing: Next Steps, HCWS169, what methodology will be used to allocate the £47 million in relation to nutrient neutrality; and what the eligibility requirement for receiving the funds will be.

At the Budget on 30 October, the Chancellor announced £45 million for seven local authority areas for Round 2 of the Local Nutrient Mitigation fund. The allocations were awarded to authorities affected by nutrient neutrality on the basis of bids submitted by them for mitigation schemes. A further £2 million was divided between the largest catchments affected by nutrient neutrality to support cross-boundary work on this issue. The authorities affected by nutrient neutrality were listed in the expression of interest for the fund, published on gov.uk on 23 May 2023.