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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions (a) he has had with Cabinet colleagues and (b) officials in his Department have had with their counterparts in other Government departments on establishing additional public footpaths and byways in England.

We are working to complete the England Coast Path and to support our network of National Trails and intend to create a new National Trail across the North of England. We are ensuring that rights of way are recorded and protected, as well as developing schemes that reward environmental benefits which could fund the creation of new paths, such as footpaths and bridleways, which provide access for cyclists, horse riders and pedestrians where appropriate.

Local authorities are also required to keep a Rights of Way Improvement Plan (ROWIP) to plan improvements to their network, which is usually available on the authority’s website.