Baroness Scott of Needham Market

Presently Countryside Stewardship scheme supports land managers to offer educational access visits to school age children and care farming groups and also offers a supplement to support access to woodlands. In protected landscapes, the Farming in a Protected Landscape programme offers permissive access.

We are fully committed to the Environmental Land Management schemes. The government will optimise Environmental Land Management schemes over time, so they produce the right outcomes for all farmers - such as small, grassland, upland and tenanted farms - while delivering food security and nature recovery in a just and equitable way. This will also consider improved access to the countryside.

Unfortunately, the King Charles III England Coast Path (KCIIIECP) will not be fully walkable by the end of 2024. However, by the end of December 2024 up to 62% of the KCIIIECP will be completed, along with the wider coastal access rights between the path and mean low water (coastal margin), and provision to roll back the trail with an eroding coast and reduced occupiers’ liability towards the public that the KCIIIECP provides.

This will result in 95% of the English coast being walkable through a combination of completed KCIIIECP / coastal access rights (as above), public rights of way and de facto access.

Work continues on the KCIIIECP, with another 57 miles opening this week in Lincolnshire and more commencements planned this year. 1251 miles are now open and available for public use, with works taking place on another 1144 miles. Less than 300 miles are yet to be approved.

We are working at pace to ensure completion as soon as possible. We will develop a revised timetable with Natural England for 2025/2026 to determine when all 2700 miles of the KCIIIECP will be complete and open to public access.

The Government is committed to enhancing public access to nature, as evidenced by our manifesto commitment to create nine new national river walks and three new national forests. We are currently considering how best to continue to drive forward our goals in this area and we will be engaging with stakeholders as we do so.

Defra is progressing plans to designate nine new National River Walks across England, one in each region, to enhance access to nature. This is a priority for the department and we are currently considering several delivery options, as well as reviewing where existing river walks are in place. Further details will be provided in due course.

The Department works closely with the National Skills Academy for Rail to attract more talent into the rail industry. As part of this, the website “Routes into Rail” highlights career opportunities within the sector. The Department intends to develop a longer-term strategy for the rail workforce exploring productivity, efficiencies, skills, and diversity.

A consultation was run in 2023 on the interim delivery plan for myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). In the World ME Day Westminster Hall debate in May 2024, the current Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health and Prevention pushed for the publication of a response to the consultation. It is now a priority for the Department, and it is our intention to publish a response in the coming months. The consultation responses, along with continued close engagement with stakeholders, will inform the development of the Final Delivery Plan, which we aim to publish in the winter of 2024/25.

No specific assessment has been made of the proportion of the research budget allocated for ME/CFS or long COVID. Over the last five years, the Department, through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), has allocated £6.64 million of funding to support 10 research projects, including the £3.2 million DecodeME study, co-funded with the Medical Research Council. Over the same period, the NIHR and UK Research and Innovation have awarded over £50 million for long COVID research. The NIHR remains committed to funding high-quality research to better understand the causes and health impacts of ME/CFS and long COVID, and to identify and evaluate new treatments and interventions.

It is not usual practice for the NIHR to ring-fence funds for particular topics or conditions. The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including ME/CFS and long COVID. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money, and scientific quality.

A consultation was run in 2023 on the interim delivery plan for myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). In the World ME Day Westminster Hall debate in May 2024, the current Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health and Prevention pushed for the publication of a response to the consultation. It is now a priority for the Department, and it is our intention to publish a response in the coming months. The consultation responses, along with continued close engagement with stakeholders, will inform the development of the Final Delivery Plan, which we aim to publish in the winter of 2024/25.

No specific assessment has been made of the proportion of the research budget allocated for ME/CFS or long COVID. Over the last five years, the Department, through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), has allocated £6.64 million of funding to support 10 research projects, including the £3.2 million DecodeME study, co-funded with the Medical Research Council. Over the same period, the NIHR and UK Research and Innovation have awarded over £50 million for long COVID research. The NIHR remains committed to funding high-quality research to better understand the causes and health impacts of ME/CFS and long COVID, and to identify and evaluate new treatments and interventions.

It is not usual practice for the NIHR to ring-fence funds for particular topics or conditions. The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including ME/CFS and long COVID. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money, and scientific quality.

A consultation was run in 2023 on the interim delivery plan for myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). In the World ME Day Westminster Hall debate in May 2024, the current Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health and Prevention pushed for the publication of a response to the consultation. It is now a priority for the Department, and it is our intention to publish a response in the coming months. The consultation responses, along with continued close engagement with stakeholders, will inform the development of the Final Delivery Plan, which we aim to publish in the winter of 2024/25.

No specific assessment has been made of the proportion of the research budget allocated for ME/CFS or long COVID. Over the last five years, the Department, through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), has allocated £6.64 million of funding to support 10 research projects, including the £3.2 million DecodeME study, co-funded with the Medical Research Council. Over the same period, the NIHR and UK Research and Innovation have awarded over £50 million for long COVID research. The NIHR remains committed to funding high-quality research to better understand the causes and health impacts of ME/CFS and long COVID, and to identify and evaluate new treatments and interventions.

It is not usual practice for the NIHR to ring-fence funds for particular topics or conditions. The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including ME/CFS and long COVID. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money, and scientific quality.

The Government is committed to building 1.5 million homes over the duration of the parliament. New residential dwellings, including Houses in Multiple Occupation (an HMO) that have not been converted from an existing home, will be included in the target for building new homes.