Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking with local government to promote green infrastructure.

The government is committed to developing a 25 year plan to improve the environment and this will include the importance of green infrastructure as a key underpinning of both the economy and well being.

The government is spending more than £600 million by 2020 to support the development, manufacture and uptake of electric ultra low emission vehicles in the UK. Part of this includes assisting local authorities by providing grant funding through the On Street Residential Scheme and Workplace Chargepoint Scheme to help meet the cost of installing electric vehicle chargepoints on streets in residential areas without access to off-street parking. Under the Go Ultra Low City Scheme the government is supporting a variety of infrastructure programmes for both public and domestic chargepoints across eight cities/regions of Bristol/West of England, London, Nottingham, Milton Keynes, York, Dundee, Oxford and the North East.

The government has made £1.5 million available to communities to create 'Pocket Parks', turning unused spaces into sensory gardens, wildlife habitats and food growing areas. The government has also submitted written evidence to the Select Committee inquiry on the future of public parks and will respond to any recommendations made as a result of this inquiry in due course.