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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment her Department has made of the economic benefits of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000.

A general economic assessment of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 is not available.

However, assessments of current policies for increasing access to nature indicate there will be economic benefits. For example, the Coast to Coast National Trail currently generates significant economic benefits as England's most popular long-distance route, attracting approximately 6,000 annual end-to-end walkers who contribute £7 million to the local economy. A baseline study for the King Charles III England Coast Path showed that over 29 million leisure walking trips took place on English coastal paths in 2017. Over £379 million is spent in the national economy as a result of trips to use English coastal paths, of which £350 million is spent within local coastal economies.