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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes in the level of funding for the Canal and River Trust on the adequacy of the maintenance of inland waterways.

When the Canal and River Trust was set up in 2012 to replace British Waterways, the Government agreed to provide an annual grant over 15 years to provide a measure of financial stability while the Trust developed alternative income streams. Although there was no obligation to do so, the Government has agreed to provide the Trust with a further £400 million grant over ten years from 2027, continuing to support the Trust to deliver a safe and resilient canal network. The grant primarily supports the Trust’s infrastructure maintenance programme, but it is an operational matter for the Trust to determine the allocation of funding within their maintenance programme, and Ministers do not have a role in that.