Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government what is the status of the next DEFRA stakeholder engagement survey; whether it will cover access to nature and outdoor recreation; and if not, why not.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The annual stakeholder engagement survey is now closed, and the results are currently being reviewed. The survey covers issues across the Defra brief, including nature and outdoor recreation.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government, following reporting from the BBC in January 2024 that investigators had found 32,000 blockages on public rights of way, whether they will take action to remove obstructions preventing the public from using such ways.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Local highway authorities are responsible for the management and maintenance of public rights of way, including ensuring that they are free from obstructions and available for public use. They have statutory duties to assert and protect the public’s right to use these routes and to take action where obstructions are identified.

Each authority is also required to prepare and maintain a Rights of Way Improvement Plan, which assesses the condition of the local network and sets out how it will be improved for all users. These plans are publicly available on the relevant authority’s website.

Local authorities are best placed to determine local priorities and allocate resources accordingly, taking account of the needs of their communities and the condition of the rights of way in their area. The Government continues to provide local authorities with funding through the Local Government Finance Settlement, and it is for them to decide how best to use this funding, including for maintaining and improving public rights of way.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government what legislative vehicle they will use to implement their commitment, announced on 26 December 2024, to repeal the 2031 deadline for recording historic rights of way.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

We have announced our intention to remove the 2031 cut-off date for the recording of historic rights of way, to support and enhance public access to nature. Removing this deadline will ensure that historic routes valued by communities can continue to be identified and protected for future generations.

This repeal will require primary legislation, and we will bring forward the necessary provisions when parliamentary time allows.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will publish detailed allocations for public access funding for 2025–26 and subsequent financial years; and how these will support delivery of commitments to expand public enjoyment of the natural environment.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government recognises the importance of providing access to the outdoors for people’s health and wellbeing and is working to ensure that this access is safe and appropriate. We are committed to increasing access to nature and have already set out several ambitious manifesto commitments to expand opportunities for the public to enjoy the outdoors, including the creation of nine new national river walks and three new national forests in England.

While we are unable to publish funding allocations for future years, we continue to invest significantly in improving access to nature across the country. For example, our four-year £33 million Access for All programme has supported a targeted package of measures across our Protected Landscapes, National Trails, Forestry England sites and the wider countryside to make access to green and blue spaces more inclusive. In 2025–26, £17.06 million was allocated to this programme. This funding has supported practical improvements such as resurfaced paths, replacing stiles with accessible gates, and installing changing places and toilets, enabling more people of all abilities to enjoy the outdoors.

Additionally, we continue to invest in completing the King Charles III England Coast Path, which at around 2,700 miles will be the longest waymarked and maintained coastal walking route in the world. Over 2,500 miles have now been approved, and more than 1,800 miles are already open. The route will also create around 250,000 hectares of new open access land within the coastal margin. We are also investing in improvements to Wainwright’s Coast to Coast route so that it can be designated as a National Trail.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to issue a green paper on access to nature, and according to what time frame.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government recognises the importance of providing access to the outdoors for people’s health and wellbeing and is working to ensure that this access is safe and appropriate. We are committed to increasing access to nature and have already set out several ambitious manifesto commitments to expand opportunities for the public to enjoy the outdoors, including the creation of nine new national river walks and three new national forests in England.

We are currently developing policy to improve access to nature, working closely with other government departments and key stakeholders.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that hospital and community services effectively prevent and manage malnutrition among people with severe and very severe myalgic encephalomyelitis in England.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

We published the final delivery plan for myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), on 22 July, which focuses on boosting research, improving attitudes and education, and bettering the lives of people with this debilitating disease.

The commissioning of ME/CFS services is the responsibility of local integrated care boards based on the needs of their local population. The ME/CFS Final Delivery Plan includes an action for the Department and NHS England to explore whether a specialised service should be prescribed by my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for very severe ME/CFS. Officials from the Department have commenced discussions with NHS England on how best to take forward this action.

To support healthcare professionals in the diagnosis and management of conditions like ME/CFS, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published guidance for ME/CFS in October 2021, a copy of which is attached.

It recommends that people with ME/CFS should be referred for a dietetic assessment by a dietitian with a special interest in ME/CFS if they are losing weight and at risk of malnutrition. The guidance also states that clinicians should recognise that symptoms of severe and very severe ME/CFS may mean that people are unable to eat and digest food easily and may need support with hydration and nutrition, and that the support provided could include oral nutrition and enteral feeding.

NICE guidelines are evidence-based, informed by clinical expertise, and represent best practice. Although NICE guidelines are not mandatory, healthcare professionals are expected to take them fully into account.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the adequacy of NHS care for patients in England with severe and very severe myalgic encephalomyelitis; and what steps they are taking to improve it.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

We published the final delivery plan for myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), on 22 July, which focuses on boosting research, improving attitudes and education, and bettering the lives of people with this debilitating disease.

The commissioning of ME/CFS services is the responsibility of local integrated care boards based on the needs of their local population. The ME/CFS Final Delivery Plan includes an action for the Department and NHS England to explore whether a specialised service should be prescribed by my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for very severe ME/CFS. Officials from the Department have commenced discussions with NHS England on how best to take forward this action.

To support healthcare professionals in the diagnosis and management of conditions like ME/CFS, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published guidance for ME/CFS in October 2021, a copy of which is attached.

It recommends that people with ME/CFS should be referred for a dietetic assessment by a dietitian with a special interest in ME/CFS if they are losing weight and at risk of malnutrition. The guidance also states that clinicians should recognise that symptoms of severe and very severe ME/CFS may mean that people are unable to eat and digest food easily and may need support with hydration and nutrition, and that the support provided could include oral nutrition and enteral feeding.

NICE guidelines are evidence-based, informed by clinical expertise, and represent best practice. Although NICE guidelines are not mandatory, healthcare professionals are expected to take them fully into account.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether parish and town councils are permitted to spend the neighbourhood portion of Community Infrastructure Levy receipts on the cost of the neighbourhood plan process, including consultation, plan-writing, examination and referendum.

Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) receipts must be used for the purposes which are set out in section 216 of the Planning Act 2008 and Part 7 of the CIL regulations.

Local authorities must spend the levy on infrastructure needed to support the development of their area. Where charging authorities collect the levy, they can use up to 5% of funds from the levy to recover the costs of administering the levy.

Where all or part of a chargeable development is within the area of a parish council, the charging authority must pass a proportion of the CIL receipts from the development to the parish council. The ‘neighbourhood portion’ of CIL can be spent on infrastructure or anything else that is concerned with addressing the demands that development places on an area.

Further information on spending the levy is set out in CIL guidance (attached) and which can be found on gov.uk here.