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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to improve the condition of (a) the Thames path, (b) The Ridgeway and (c) other National Trails.

The Government remains committed to enhancing access to nature and recognises the importance of National Trails as crucial links between urban and rural settings, allowing people to get closer to nature and experience the natural world.

In addition to the continued delivery of the King Charles III England Coast Path and Coast to Coast National Trails, Defra has supported the creation of National Trails UK (NTUK) and provided funding to aid in its establishment. We anticipate that NTUK will improve the long-term management and sustainability of National Trails, improve the capacity for National Trails to engage people currently not accessing nature and test new ideas and ways of working as a family of National Trails.

We are also delivering the £33m ‘Access for All’ programme, which consists of a package of targeted measures in our protected landscapes, national trails, forests and the wider countryside to make access to green and blue spaces more inclusive.