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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the High Court ruling on 13 January 2023 that Section 10(1) of the Dartmoor Commons Act 1985 does not confer on the public any right to pitch tents or otherwise make camp overnight on the Dartmoor Commons.

The Dartmoor Commons Act 1985 established a right of access to the commons on foot and horseback for the purpose of open-air recreation and provided the National Park Authority with certain powers to regulate and manage public access to the commons. Following the recent court judgement an agreement has been reached in principle that will enable people to continue wild camping in parts of Dartmoor National Park

The Government recognises the importance of providing access and is continuing to deliver a number of policies including work to complete the England Coast Path; the creation of a new National Trail across the North of England; a first review of open access mapping and the provision of safe and appropriate public access in as many woodlands as possible as set out in the England Trees Action Plan.