Coastal Areas: Finance
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what comparative assessment she has made of the value for money of providing funding for (a) overseas ocean resilience projects and (b) domestic coastal protection projects.
Answered by Mary Creagh
The UK is committed to supporting vulnerable coastal communities and delivering positive marine outcomes, both internationally and domestically.
Government spending, including funding for domestic projects and overseas programming, was set out in the Spending Review 2025 settlement. All Government programmes, both domestic and international, are subject to rigorous Value for Money (VfM) assessments.
We are committed to supporting coastal communities in the UK and ensuring coastal risk management is fit for the challenges we face now and in the future. Between April 2024 and March 2026, £516 million was allocated by government into protection from sea flooding, tidal flooding, and coastal erosion in the UK.
As set out in the recently published nature security assessment on global biodiversity loss, global ecosystem collapse could have direct consequences on collective security and prosperity, both internationally and directly for the UK. Tackling these issues at home and overseas is a priority for this Government.
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