Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department plans to take to ensure that some of the income raised by The Crown Estate from seabed licensing is returned to the marine environment to further the management of significant heritage assets located within the UK Marine Area and in particular for the sites of (i) the Galloper wreck, (ii) HMS Victory (1744) and (iii) HMS Gloucester (1654).

The Department has no current plans. Her Majesty The Queen surrenders the revenue from The Crown Estate (which she owns as reigning Monarch) to the Government. As a result, over the last ten years, The Crown Estate has returned a total of £2.9 billion to the Exchequer. The Crown Estate revenues are not hypothecated and have been invested in vital public services such as the NHS, transport, schools and defence, which benefit the UK as a whole.