[7] Following the 2010 general election, the incoming coalition government reaffirmed its support for status change on the waterways, as an example of the Conservative Party's commitment to the so-called Big Society.

[citation needed] BWML, a private company limited by guarantee, was formerly owned[16][failed verification] by the Canal & River Trust and managed some 20 marinas.

In Scotland, British Waterways continues to operate as a stand-alone public corporation under the trading name Scottish Canals.

[18][19] Waterways in the care of the Canal & River Trust are accessible for use by boats, canoeists, paddleboarders and other watercraft upon payment of an appropriate licence fee.

[20] Walkers and cyclists can use the extensive network of towpaths that run alongside the canals and rivers without payment of a fee.

Council advises on shaping policy, raising and debating issues, providing guidance, perspective and a sounding board for the trustees.

[24] The trust is supported through a number of advisory committees covering a range of different areas from freight and navigation to volunteering and heritage.

[26] These offices are based on the Waterways Partnership regions which are: The Trust receives a fixed grant from the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs over the 15 years commencing 2012.

In December 2016, Private Eye magazine reported that the Canal & River Trust had seized a historic retired lightship which had been moored for ten years at the docks near the maritime museum in Liverpool, following a dispute over unpaid berthing fees.

[35] The Merseyside Civic Society launched a petition to bring the vessel back to Liverpool but the trust later sold it for £12,500, less than its estimated scrap valuation of £70,000.

[36] In November 2019, the Trust was criticised for not acting on calls to open a sluice gate in Worksop during extensive flooding in the area.