Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of local authority funding for the maintenance of a) public parks and b) green spaces.
Answered by Florence Eshalomi - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government recognises that parks and green spaces can make a significant contribution to public health and community wellbeing by supporting physical activity, improving mental health, strengthening social connections, promoting community cohesion and pride in place, and delivering wider environmental benefits. We are therefore committed to supporting Local Authorities in developing best practice to manage parks and green spaces.
Responsibility for funding, managing and maintaining these assets rests primarily with local authorities, and spending decisions are a matter for them. The 2026-27 Local Government Finance Settlement is our most significant step yet to make English local government more sustainable. We are delivering fairer funding, targeting money where it is needed most through the first multi-year Settlement in a decade. By the end of the multi-year Settlement (2028-29), the Government will have provided a 15.5% increase in Core Spending Power for local authorities in England, worth over £11.4 billion, compared to 2025-26. The majority of funding in the Local Government Finance Settlement is unringfenced recognising that local leaders are best placed to identify local priorities.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of public parks and green spaces on public health and community wellbeing.
Answered by Florence Eshalomi - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government recognises that parks and green spaces can make a significant contribution to public health and community wellbeing by supporting physical activity, improving mental health, strengthening social connections, promoting community cohesion and pride in place, and delivering wider environmental benefits. We are therefore committed to supporting Local Authorities in developing best practice to manage parks and green spaces.
Responsibility for funding, managing and maintaining these assets rests primarily with local authorities, and spending decisions are a matter for them. The 2026-27 Local Government Finance Settlement is our most significant step yet to make English local government more sustainable. We are delivering fairer funding, targeting money where it is needed most through the first multi-year Settlement in a decade. By the end of the multi-year Settlement (2028-29), the Government will have provided a 15.5% increase in Core Spending Power for local authorities in England, worth over £11.4 billion, compared to 2025-26. The majority of funding in the Local Government Finance Settlement is unringfenced recognising that local leaders are best placed to identify local priorities.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to improve access to nature in a) Romford and b) other constituencies where over 20% of properties are located more than 15 minutes’ walk away from green and blue spaces.
Answered by Jenny Riddell-Carpenter - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to improving access to nature through measures set out in the Environmental Improvement Plan 2025, including National River Walks, National Forests and an Access to Nature Green Paper. We are also using the new 15-minute access data to help target action towards areas with poorer access to green and blue space.
Through the Pride in Place Programme, Harold Hill East in Havering will now receive up to £20 million. A neighbourhood Board will work with the community to decide how this funding is spent, which could include investments in parks and green spaces. In Romford, Raphael Park and Cottons Park have received Green Flag Awards in 2026, a recognised accreditation setting the national standard for green spaces across the UK.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the extent to which children living in poverty have unequal access to trees and green spaces compared to other children and of the implications for their health and well being; and what steps they are taking to address any such inequality as part of the child poverty strategy.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Child Poverty Strategy recognises that place is fundamental to child poverty, shaping the environment in which children grow up, and the opportunities parents have to provide for their children. Access to green space is a key part of this, providing opportunities for play, physical activity, social interaction and improved mental wellbeing, supporting healthier childhood development and life outcomes.
Local people know best what change is needed and empowering local areas to improve outcomes and opportunities for children is a fundamental principle of the strategy. Through the Pride in Place Programme, we will invest £5.8 billion in 284 communities over the next decade. Communities will develop plans for the future of their areas based on local priorities, which could include creating and improving green spaces.
The Pride in Place Impact Fund will also provide up to £150 million of funding to 95 places to support the development of community spaces, public spaces (including parks and playgrounds) and to revitalise local high streets. The £18 million Playgrounds Fund will improve children’s access to safe, inclusive, high‑quality local play spaces in communities where there is the greatest need.
This sits alongside Best Start Family Hubs, the Better Futures Fund and wider investment in local services and neighbourhoods.
Asked by: Oliver Dowden (Conservative - Hertsmere)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will make an estimate of the number of new parks required by 2033 to maintain present levels of provision per person; and what steps his Department is taking to support the creation of recreational spaces in areas of identified need.
Answered by Nesil Caliskan
The Department has not made a formal assessment of the number of additional parks required by 2033 to maintain current provision per head.
MHCLG is supporting the creation of green and recreational spaces through the planning system. Planning policies should be based on robust and up-to-date assessments of the need for open space, sport and recreation facilities (including quantitative or qualitative deficits or surpluses) and opportunities for new provision. Information gained from the assessments should be used to determine what open space, sport and recreational provision is needed, which plans should then seek to accommodate.
MHCLG works with the parks sector through the Parks Working Group, bringing together national and local partners to develop practical solutions to improve the quality, sustainability and accessibility of parks and green spaces. The government also supports provision of parks through the Green Flag Award, which sets the national standard and has transformed thousands of parks across the country.
In 2023, Natural England published the Green Infrastructure Framework, a tool to help towns and cities turn greener. The Framework is aimed at planners and developers and intends to increase the amount of green cover to 40% in urban residential areas.
Furthermore, the government believes that a new generation of new towns is essential to address England’s structural housing crisis, unlock economic growth and increase access to green space. Final decisions on New Towns locations will be taken once consultation responses have been considered and all necessary environmental assessments are complete, informed by the Taskforce’s advice on infrastructure, public services and green space required to create well-connected and sustainable towns.
Asked by: Chris Coghlan (Liberal Democrat - Dorking and Horley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress she has made in fulfilling Commitment 86 in the 2025 Environmental Improvement Plan to make sure that everyone has access to green or blue spaces within a 15-minute walk from home.
Answered by Mary Creagh
This Government is committed to reducing physical and intangible barriers to accessing nature and ensuring everyone lives within a 15-minute walk of a green or blue space.
As set out in the Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP), progress towards meeting these commitments is being made through work happening across government to both increase available natural space and make it more accessible. For example, the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government's National Planning Policy Framework reform and Natural England’s Green Infrastructure Framework.
Actions being delivered by Defra include: the launch of the Wainwright Coast to Coast route and the King Charles III England Coast Path, creating nine new National River Walks, establishing three new National Forests, and publishing an Access to Nature Green Paper to explore further opportunities to enhance and expand access to green and blue spaces. Defra is also strengthening legislation to give National Parks and National Landscapes a clear mandate to widen the public’s access to nature by the end of this Parliament and publishing further details on supporting access to woodlands in a new Trees Action Plan.
Progress on delivery of the EIP will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Scott of Needham Market (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to fulfil commitment 87 in the Environmental Improvement Plan 2025 to reduce physical barriers to accessing green and blue spaces.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government is committed to reducing physical and intangible barriers to accessing nature and ensuring everyone lives within a 15-minute walk of a green or blue space.
As set out in the Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP), progress towards meeting these commitments is being made through work happening across government to both increase available natural space and make it more accessible. For example, the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government's National Planning Policy Framework reform and Natural England’s Green Infrastructure Framework.
Actions being delivered by Defra include: the launch of the Wainwright Coast to Coast route and the King Charles III England Coast Path, creating nine new National River Walks, establishing three new National Forests, and publishing an Access to Nature Green Paper to explore further opportunities to enhance and expand access to green and blue spaces. Defra is also strengthening legislation to give National Parks and National Landscapes a clear mandate to widen the public’s access to nature by the end of this Parliament and publishing further details on supporting access to woodlands in a new Trees Action Plan.
Progress on delivery of the EIP will be set out in due course.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 19 May 2026, to Question 447, on Recreation Space, which stakeholders he plans to consult; what is his planned timetable for the review; and whether he plans to receive representations from (a) principal councils and (b) parish councils.
Answered by Nesil Caliskan
For the review of the legislative protections of public recreational green spaces, we expect to engage with representatives of local government, including principal and parish councils, as well as the parks and green spaces and development sectors.
There are no current plans to publish the terms of reference for the review of legislative protections of public recreation green spaces. The government has previously stated that the review will examine the fragmented and outdated nature of current legislative protections for public recreational green spaces, assess how these protections complement those in the planning system, and consider the lack of central records on protected land.
The review is not a formal consultation but we will engage a wide range of stakeholders to understand how the current framework operates in practice. It is expected that findings will be published by spring 2027.
The review will identify options to improve clarity, coherence and accessibility of the legislative framework, informing future policy development.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the answer of 24 February 2026 to Question 111684 on Recreation Spaces: Planning Permission, whether he plans to introduce primary legislation to facilitate reforms.
Answered by Nesil Caliskan
For the review of the legislative protections of public recreational green spaces, we expect to engage with representatives of local government, including principal and parish councils, as well as the parks and green spaces and development sectors.
There are no current plans to publish the terms of reference for the review of legislative protections of public recreation green spaces. The government has previously stated that the review will examine the fragmented and outdated nature of current legislative protections for public recreational green spaces, assess how these protections complement those in the planning system, and consider the lack of central records on protected land.
The review is not a formal consultation but we will engage a wide range of stakeholders to understand how the current framework operates in practice. It is expected that findings will be published by spring 2027.
The review will identify options to improve clarity, coherence and accessibility of the legislative framework, informing future policy development.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the answer of 11 December 2025 to Question HL12896 on Recreation Spaces: Planning Permission, when the terms of reference of the review and public consultation will be published.
Answered by Nesil Caliskan
For the review of the legislative protections of public recreational green spaces, we expect to engage with representatives of local government, including principal and parish councils, as well as the parks and green spaces and development sectors.
There are no current plans to publish the terms of reference for the review of legislative protections of public recreation green spaces. The government has previously stated that the review will examine the fragmented and outdated nature of current legislative protections for public recreational green spaces, assess how these protections complement those in the planning system, and consider the lack of central records on protected land.
The review is not a formal consultation but we will engage a wide range of stakeholders to understand how the current framework operates in practice. It is expected that findings will be published by spring 2027.
The review will identify options to improve clarity, coherence and accessibility of the legislative framework, informing future policy development.