Found: The lack of provision and maintenance of green spaces, playgrounds, and other outdoor recreation

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the impact of sewage discharges on sports clubs engaged in (a) swimming, (b) surfing, (c) angling, (d) canoeing and (e) other water sports.

Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

In our Sport Strategy, ‘Get Active’, we set out our unapologetic ambition to build a more active nation and our vision to ensure the sector can thrive in the years ahead. Outdoor recreation on our nation’s coastline and in our rivers, lakes and canals are vital to the participation landscape.

We recognise the need for water sport participants to have access to consistent and up-to-date data about bathing water quality. DCMS is working with relevant water based National Governing Bodies and the Outdoors For All Coalition to understand the barriers to accessing and participating in green and blue spaces.

Designated bathing waters and water quality monitoring in England remain the responsibility of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Environment Agency (EA). DEFRA is a permanent member of the National Physical Activity Taskforce, which ensures that we deliver coordinated policy in this area.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department has taken to support water sports clubs that have been impacted by high levels of e. coli in (a) rivers and (b) other bodies of water.

Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

In our Sport Strategy, ‘Get Active’, we set out our unapologetic ambition to build a more active nation and our vision to ensure the sector can thrive in the years ahead. Outdoor recreation on our nation’s coastline and in our rivers, lakes and canals are vital to the participation landscape.

We recognise the need for water sport participants to have access to consistent and up-to-date data about bathing water quality. DCMS is working with relevant water based National Governing Bodies and the Outdoors For All Coalition to understand the barriers to accessing and participating in green and blue spaces.

Designated bathing waters and water quality monitoring in England remain the responsibility of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Environment Agency (EA). DEFRA is a permanent member of the National Physical Activity Taskforce, which ensures that we deliver coordinated policy in this area.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of extending the scope of Adventure Activities Licensing Regulations to include voluntary organisations.

Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Adventure Activities Licensing Regulations 2004 require persons providing facilities for adventure activities in return for payment to hold a licence granted by the licensing authority in accordance with the regulations. Persons are not required to hold a licence where facilities are provided by a voluntary association to its members or members of other voluntary associations by agreement between the associations. Since 2007 the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has been the licensing authority for the regulations.

In 2018 HSE consulted stakeholders as part of a review of the delivery and scope of adventure activity licensing. In preparation for that consultation HSE considered and decided against extending licensing to include exempt persons such as voluntary organisations. This was on the basis that:

1. The financial burden on schools, local authorities and voluntary organisations would have created a risk that services would be cut thereby reducing provision of adventure activities for young people which would have been contrary to the purpose of the review.
2. The inspectorate at the time would not have been able to cope with the demand for licenses such a change would have created.

Found: resource and which can have a market value (e.g. minerals, timber, fresh water) or non-market value (e.g. outdoor

Found: resource and which can have a market value (e.g. minerals, timber, fresh water) or non-market value (e.g. outdoor

Found: Valuation of energy use and greenhouse gas emissions for appraisal25 (BEIS, 2023) Welfare value of outdoor

Found: ORVAL The Outdoor Recreation Valuation tool is a web -based tool that predicts the number of visits

Found: and link into the existing PRoWs network , improv ing connectivity and enhanc ing opportunities for outdoor

Found: Walkers on this local circular route plainly fall full -square within the category of people enjoying outdoor

Found: energy and decarbonisation • Realising the economic potential of landscape • Growing tourism and outdoor

Found: Forestry England has become the largest provider of outdoor recreation in the country, and is also pioneering

Found: wellbeing benefitsProximity of our forests to peopleFree and low cost access for all to greenspace Largest outdoor

Found: Use of the coast for outdoor recreation can, i f not carefully managed, add to environmental pressures

Found: Their work contributes to supporting local economies (through direct forest management activity, outdoor

Question

To ask the Scottish Government what measures it is taking to ensure that visitors to parks and other areas for outdoor recreation are aware of the risk of Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases.

Answered by Minto, Jenni - Minister for Public Health and Women's Health

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-26312 on 8 April 2024. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers .