Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the (a) mental and (b) physical health benefits of having access to (i) green and (ii) blue spaces for recreation.

The ability to access green and blue space is associated with improved physical and mental health and increased healthy life expectancy.

The Government recognises the importance of providing access to the outdoors for people's health and wellbeing, and has committed to creating nine new national river walks and three new national forests in England, expanding access to the great outdoors.