To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much his Department spent to protect the coastline from erosion in (a) Scarborough and Whitby constituency, (b) East Yorkshire constituency and (c) Beverley and Holderness constituency in each of the last five years. (92928)

DEFRA has overall policy responsibility for coastal erosion risk in England and funds coastal local authorities to support their investment in capital improvement works. Additional funding is provided by the Department for Communities and Local Government in the form of revenue support grant, which supports local authority maintenance and running costs to protect against coastal erosion.

Capital funding support provided by DEFRA is as follows:

Funding is not recorded on a constituency basis, but projects funded have been attributed to constituencies on the basis of the local authority responsible.

This funding represents a mix of direct grant and Supported Capital Expenditure (Revenue) for projects promoted under the Coast Protection Act 1949. These are projects designed to protect against coastal erosion, but they often have significant benefits in terms of reducing flood risk from the sea as well. Funding for a particular council will often vary considerably from one year to another, depending on the capital improvement projects in progress at any particular stage.