Caroline Lucas MP Green, Brighton
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent steps he has taken to support increased access for canoeists to rivers and waterways in England.
Hansard 31 January 2019
Mims Davies MP The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.
The
Government’s sport strategy, Sporting Future, encourages and promotes
outdoor recreation. Use of our waterways by all can be a creative and
fun way to engage with the natural world and to stay healthy.
Sport England is actively engaged with British Canoeing and the Canal and River Trust
to get more people from all backgrounds active. In addition Sport
England is providing £6.85m to British Canoeing for the period between
2017 to 2021.
The ‘public rights of navigation’ issue around access to waterways is dealt with by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and they are currently working with British Canoeing to consider solutions to access disputes.