Baroness Scott of Needham Market

HM Government is a great supporter of the health and wellbeing benefits that access to the countryside can bring. As articulated in the 25 Year Environment Plan, public access to the countryside provides a huge range of benefits, including improving physical and mental health and supporting local communities and economies. HM Government supports educational activities that aim to provide access onto farms for the wider public and school children through grants available in Countryside Stewardship. This includes funding farmers for hosting school pupils and care farming clients to engage with farming and the environment, as well as funding for training to enable an agreement holder to carry out enhanced educational experiences.

We are considering how best to maintain investment in public access as part of our future schemes. The teams responsible for developing the options for future schemes have been engaging with the quarterly Access and Engagement with Nature Stakeholder Forum, and will continue to do so. In addition to the quarterly forum, Defra officials will be holding an engagement session dedicated to the discussion of Environmental Land Management with public access stakeholders in November.

HM Government is a great supporter of the health and wellbeing benefits that access to the countryside can bring. As articulated in the 25 Year Environment Plan, public access to the countryside provides a huge range of benefits, including improving physical and mental health and supporting local communities and economies. HM Government supports educational activities that aim to provide access onto farms for the wider public and school children through grants available in Countryside Stewardship. This includes funding farmers for hosting school pupils and care farming clients to engage with farming and the environment, as well as funding for training to enable an agreement holder to carry out enhanced educational experiences.

We are considering how best to maintain investment in public access as part of our future schemes. The teams responsible for developing the options for future schemes have been engaging with the quarterly Access and Engagement with Nature Stakeholder Forum, and will continue to do so. In addition to the quarterly forum, Defra officials will be holding an engagement session dedicated to the discussion of Environmental Land Management with public access stakeholders in November.

Footpath networks are of high importance when considering how the public can access and enjoy the treasured landscapes.

Clear arrangements are already in place through the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 to allow for the establishment, recording and appeal of rights of way to agreed standards, and local authorities hold the responsibility for their maintenance. Local authorities are required to keep a Rights of Way Improvement Plan to plan improvements to the existing rights of way network in their area.

Local Access Forums (LAF) advise local authorities and other organisations about making improvements to public access for outdoor recreation and sustainable travel. LAFs can set their own priorities depending on local issues, so engagement is typically with their local authority rather than central government.

Additionally, access to rivers and other waterways is managed by navigation authorities.

The Agricultural Transition Plan was published in November 2020 and the Government published an update in June 2021. Further information on the Environmental Land Management Schemes will be published later this year.

Footpath networks are of high importance when considering how the public can access and enjoy the treasured landscapes.

Clear arrangements are already in place through the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 to allow for the establishment, recording and appeal of rights of way to agreed standards, and local authorities hold the responsibility for their maintenance. Local authorities are required to keep a Rights of Way Improvement Plan to plan improvements to the existing rights of way network in their area.

Local Access Forums (LAF) advise local authorities and other organisations about making improvements to public access for outdoor recreation and sustainable travel. LAFs can set their own priorities depending on local issues, so engagement is typically with their local authority rather than central government.

Additionally, access to rivers and other waterways is managed by navigation authorities.

The Agricultural Transition Plan was published in November 2020 and the Government published an update in June 2021. Further information on the Environmental Land Management Schemes will be published later this year.

Footpath networks are of high importance when considering how the public can access and enjoy the treasured landscapes.

Clear arrangements are already in place through the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 to allow for the establishment, recording and appeal of rights of way to agreed standards, and local authorities hold the responsibility for their maintenance. Local authorities are required to keep a Rights of Way Improvement Plan to plan improvements to the existing rights of way network in their area.

Local Access Forums (LAF) advise local authorities and other organisations about making improvements to public access for outdoor recreation and sustainable travel. LAFs can set their own priorities depending on local issues, so engagement is typically with their local authority rather than central government.

Additionally, access to rivers and other waterways is managed by navigation authorities.

The Agricultural Transition Plan was published in November 2020 and the Government published an update in June 2021. Further information on the Environmental Land Management Schemes will be published later this year.

Footpath networks are of high importance when considering how the public can access and enjoy the treasured landscapes.

Clear arrangements are already in place through the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 to allow for the establishment, recording and appeal of rights of way to agreed standards, and local authorities hold the responsibility for their maintenance. Local authorities are required to keep a Rights of Way Improvement Plan to plan improvements to the existing rights of way network in their area.

Local Access Forums (LAF) advise local authorities and other organisations about making improvements to public access for outdoor recreation and sustainable travel. LAFs can set their own priorities depending on local issues, so engagement is typically with their local authority rather than central government.

Additionally, access to rivers and other waterways is managed by navigation authorities.

The Agricultural Transition Plan was published in November 2020 and the Government published an update in June 2021. Further information on the Environmental Land Management Schemes will be published later this year.

The last meeting of the Motor Vehicle Stakeholder Working Group (MSWG) was on 2 May 2018. In the meeting it was agreed to use the group’s feedback to inform a consultation and discussion with order-making authorities regarding their current working practices around Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs), recreational vehicle management and ways to achieve the group’s recommendations such as new guidance. It was further agreed that parallel processes in other departments would be considered and so input was provided to the Department of Transport’s own review of TRO’s in 2019 labelled the ‘TRO Discovery Project’, which resulted in new guidance for surfaced highways.

Order-making authorities were surveyed in 2019 but there were insufficient responses to proceed further. Natural England was to carry out a more targeted survey in 2020, which due to the competing demands of the coronavirus pandemic and other priorities was delayed, although the intention remains to re-survey the authorities in due course.

We will consider seeking feedback from the MSWG once the survey has been completed and results are available.

As noted in the Freeports Bidding Prospectus, Government intends to review the National Policy Statement for Ports in 2021. In deciding when to review the NPS, due consideration will be given to the impact of changes in policy of both climate and biodiversity targets.

The case for reviewing the National Networks National Policy Statement remains under active consideration as part of the Secretary of State’s duties under the Planning Act 2008. Developments in domestic environmental policy and our international commitments, are assessed against the three considerations the Secretary of State must take into account in deciding whether to review an NPS set out in section 6 of the Act.

On 16 December 2020, the Supreme Court overturned the earlier Court of Appeal decision and declared that the Airports National Policy Statement is lawful. We are carefully considering the Court’s judgement.

The Government have always been clear that Heathrow expansion is a private sector project which must meet strict criteria on air quality, noise and climate change, as well as being privately financed, affordable, and delivered in the best interest of consumers.

In the coming months, we will launch a consultation setting out the steps to reach net zero aviation emissions by 2050.

While the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) recommends prioritisation for vaccination rest on medical grounds, rather than occupation alone, the Government is considering the vital role of seafarers in the movement of trade in and out of the UK.

My officials have regularly engaged with the UK maritime industry and academia on this matter, particularly since the launch of the Clean Maritime Council, which was established in 2018 to ensure strong collaboration between Government, industry and academia on maritime decarbonisation.

The Council underpinned the publication of the Clean Maritime Plan, which was published in July 2019 and made a number of recommendations relating to alternative fuel technologies, including hydrogen.

The maritime sector plays a vital role in the UK economy and continues to provide vital freight and key worker services throughout the pandemic. However, it has faced significant disruption and challenges, as have many parts of the economy. To support businesses and employees, HMG has responded with an unprecedented £330 billion of financial measures. In addition, the Department provided bespoke financial support to ensure that critical lifeline and freight services continued to operate through the most challenging period.

My Department is working closely with the maritime sector on their restart plans. This includes identifying the support that will need to be provided to enable the safe resumption and continued increase of services and operations. We are also working with the sector on a longer-term Maritime Recovery Plan which will build on Maritime 2050 published in January 2019. Given the changes that COVID-19 has caused, we are considering where new recommendations could be made in addition to Maritime 2050, or existing recommendations accelerated, to help the maritime sector recover from COVID-19 and continue to grow.

The maritime sector plays a key role in the UK economy, responsible for up to 95% of our imports and exports. As much of the UK maritime sector is privately owned, our world-leading companies are well placed to seek investment opportunities through commercial means.

Nevertheless, my Department, along with our colleagues across government, work closely with all parts of the UK maritime sector to identify the support they need to support their success and growth. In particular, the Department for International Trade works closely with the industry to promote the UK as an inward investment destination for the global maritime community.

In 2019, the Department published the Clean Maritime Plan, which noted the potential for clean economic growth in the UK as a result of the transition to zero emission shipping.

Alongside the Plan, the Department published an assessment of the potential economic opportunities from low and zero emission shipping. While this does not estimate the number of potential new jobs that could be created through the decarbonisation of the maritime sector, it identifies a large potential global market for the elements of alternative maritime fuel production technologies in which the UK has a particular competitive advantage (for example, upfront design), which could result in economic benefits to the UK of around £360–£510 million per year by the middle of the century.

Maritime UK has published its views that investment in maritime decarbonisation could in future create more than 15 thousand jobs as well as tens of thousands of jobs when considering the wider supply chain. Industry research estimates that in 2017 the UK maritime sector as a whole directly supported more than 220 thousand jobs for UK employees.

The Department has been in regular and frequent contact with both Greater Anglia and Network Rail since the start of the disruption on the rural routes within the Greater Anglia franchise area. Signalling problems on those routes caused cancellations and disruption for passengers whilst additional safety checks took place and the issue was investigated. We have raised with the rail industry the need to resolve this matter as swiftly as possible.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Clinical Knowledge Summary Tiredness/fatigue in adults was published in October 2009 and there has been no change in the way it is titled over the subsequent period. NICE advises that the inclusion of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) within the tiredness/fatigue topic is to ensure that clinicians will consider CFS as a potential diagnosis as early as possible in the course of care of a person presenting with symptoms of tiredness and fatigue.

In 2007 NICE published the guideline, Chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (or encephalopathy): diagnosis and management. This is currently being updated and a draft guideline is out for consultation with the final guidance expected in April 2021. The CFS diagnosis and management sections in the Clinical Knowledge Summary on Tiredness/Fatigue are kept in line with NICE guidance on CFS and will be updated following publication of the new guidance if necessary.

We are very grateful to all those working in social care for their incredible commitment to caring for others at this difficult time; we are especially thankful to those who have returned to work or come out of retirement to support services to deliver the best possible care.

We expect every employer to ensure that each employee is undertaking a role that is appropriate to their skills, experience, and personal circumstances. This is the case whether the employee is a permanent member of staff, or somebody who has returned to the sector to help care for and support people during the pandemic. Where, because of their own circumstances, an employee needs to shield themselves, then a social care employer is able to place these staff on furlough.

In the Government's British Energy Security Strategy, published last year, we committed to reviewing the practical planning barriers that households can face when installing energy efficiency measures, including in conservation areas and listed buildings. An announcement on the outcome of the review will be made in due course.

The Government is keen to ensure that local communities are well represented in local authorities, and that all levels of local government are supported to create thriving local democracies.

We are considering this matter and will respond to Weymouth Town Council's proposal in due course.

Ministers and officials regularly visit communities across the UK, to hear from a range of voices from all tiers of government, the public and private sectors, and community and voluntary groups

In the Levelling Up White Paper the UK Government committed to a Review of Neighbourhood Governance, including the role and functions of parish councils. This will look at how to make it easier for local people to come together to set local priorities and shape the future of their neighbourhoods. As part of this work, we will want to hear from a range of parish councils about their work and the challenges they face.

DLUHC granted the Local Government Association £19.2 million in 2019-20, £19.2 million in 2020-21, £18.8 million in 2021-22 and £18 million in 2022-23, to deliver local government sector support programmes.

No sector support grants for local government improvement were provided by DLUHC to the National Association of Local Councils during this period.

The Levelling Up White Paper outlines the UK Government's commitment to establish a Neighbourhood Governance Review. This will explore the current effectiveness of neighbourhood governance models and how they can be strengthened, including the role of town and parish councils.

Elections are essential for good local democracy. Parish and town council elections are delivered by the principal local authorities for their areas, who will communicate with local electorates on forthcoming elections as they consider appropriate. They are supported in this by the independent Electoral Commission, who, as well as running national awareness campaigns, produce resources and materials to improve public understanding of all elections, available for use by local authorities

As part of a forthcoming Review of Neighbourhood Governance announced in the Levelling Up White Paper, we will be reviewing the effectiveness of current neighbourhood governance including parish and town councils. Through the review, we want to make it easier for people to participate and shape the future of their neighbourhoods.

As set out in the Levelling Up White Paper, the UK Government is committed to making it easier for local people to come together to set local priorities and improve their places. The Review of Neighbourhood Governance in England will examine the effectiveness of current arrangements including the role and functions of parish councils, and how to make them quicker and easier to establish. As part of the review, we will engage with communities and representative bodies. Further detail on plans for the review will be made available in due course.

Local authorities of all tiers, including town councils, are vital to the success of the Towns Fund and play a key role in delivery. This includes being members of Town Deal Boards, shaping Town Investment Plans and delivering projects to make a real and tangible difference to local people.

The nature of the role of local authorities in delivering the Towns Fund will also be subject of the process and impact evaluations which will run throughout the length of the Towns Fund programme.

The community governance review process enables a principal council to carry out a review of the local arrangements in its area and make changes, which could include the abolition or restructuring of local parish councils. The Government encourages all communities wishing to establish a parish council to petition their local authority to that effect, regardless of where they live.

This is the information we hold on new parish councils created each year between 2016-2017 to 2020-2021 as a result of a community governance review. Records of new parishes created through a community governance review prior to 2016 are not held in this format.

• 2016-17: Sherfield Park Parish Council; Norton and Cuckney Parish Council; Royal Sutton Coldfield Town Council; Bingley Town Council; Finham Parish Council; Hathersage Parish Council; Asterby, Goulceby and Ranby Parish Council; Pannal with Burn Bridge Parish Council; East Hunsbury Parish Council; Exton and Horn Parish Council; Aston Tirrold and Aston Upthorpe Parish Council.

• 2017-18: South Trumpington Parish Meeting; Macclesfield Town Council; West Hill Parish Council; Batchworth Parish Council; Aldcliffe-with-Stodday Parish Council; Lowestoft Town Council; Oulton Broad Parish Council; Central Swindon North Parish Council; South Swindon Parish Council; West Swindon Parish Council; St Andrews Parish Council; Blunsdon Parish Council; Nythe, Eldene and Liden Parish Council.

• 2018-19: N/A

• 2019-20: Oulton Parish Council; Heybridge Basin Parish Council; Shipley Town Council.

• 2020 – 21: North Boyatt Wood Parish Council; Northstowe Town Council.

The Government is committed to expanding democratic engagement, and practical solutions to remove barriers to participation in local democracy are always appreciated. The Department will respond to Weymouth Town Council’s proposal in due course.

Ministers are regularly involved in cross-Government discussions about domestic and international climate and biodiversity targets, and how to meet them. Civil servants across departments and arm’s-length bodies also meet regularly to discuss these issues and the relationship between planning policy and meeting our environmental goals. This involves targets such as net zero emissions by 2050 and delivering biodiversity net gain.

Tackling climate change is a top priority for the Government, and in the Planning for the Future White Paper, we committed to ensuring the planning system supports our efforts to combat climate change and maximises environmental benefits. Our response to the White Paper will be published in due course.

Civil servants from across Government engage with stakeholders including the Local Government Association and local authorities to ensure that planning policy can support our domestic and international climate and biodiversity targets. This includes discussions between ministers, stakeholders and officials as to how planning policy can be a vehicle for achieving our biodiversity targets.

The way in which Parish and Town councils have responded to the challenges of the pandemic is testament to the unique position they occupy within our local government family.

Total support committed to councils, businesses and communities since the start of the pandemic is over £30 billion, including over £10 billion for local authorities, £6 billion of which is un-ringfenced recognising that local authorities are best placed to decide how to meet the major Covid-19 service pressures in their local area, in conversation with local partners.

Whilst the Government does not have the necessary powers to pay Parish and Town councils directly, we have written to principal authorities encouraging them to discuss the funding support for parish councils from within the support we have provided them.

Therefore, Parish and Town councils should liaise with the relevant principal authorities on how this money is allocated in their area.

We fully recognise that the facilities that will be supported by this package of Covid-19 support funding will play a vital role in maintaining the health and wellbeing of the nation, and the contribution they play in building community cohesion and participation in sport. This is in addition to the existing Sales, Fees and Charges scheme established by the Government which supports leisure centres run directly by local councils and which will be extended into the first three months of 2021-22.

My colleagues in the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport are engaging with the sector to fully understand the challenges faced and are designing their £100 million leisure services scheme accordingly.

The Government continues to provide funding to the Local Government Association to support sector improvements in a wide range of areas including improving local leadership and resilience. As the Government does not have powers to offer direct financial support to parish and town councils, they are not eligible for this support. However, the Government continues to encourage local government at all levels to work to encourage greater participation in our democracy.

The?Small Business Grant Fund and the?Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund have?been designed to support smaller?and rural businesses?and?some of the sectors which have been hit hardest by the measures taken to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

It is not expected that parish and town councils would be eligible to receive a grant as they are not businesses. Where parish and town councils have set up organisations, including trusts, that meet the grant criteria, they may be eligible and parish and town councils should liaise with their relevant local authorities to determine whether this is the case.

We are very grateful to local authorities for all that they are doing to support their communities and the most vulnerable. Parish councils have played an important role in many areas and I thank them for their work.

We regularly engage with the National Association of Local Councils (NALC) about a wide range of issues and will continue to do so. We have sought to grant additional flexibilities to local government at the current time, to recognise the role they are playing in the response to Covid-19. For example, parish councils are included in the regulations enabling council meetings to be held remotely, including remote access by members of the public, although parish meetings are not. We are continuing to explore how else we may support parish councils to assist their local communities in these unprecedented times.

However, the government does not fund parish councils; they are funded through a precept on the council tax paid by residents of the parish. There are no plans to change this. If parish and town councils are under financial pressure caused by Covid-19, I would encourage them to engage with the relevant principal authority on the £3.2bn of additional government funding allocated to councils to support the response.

Whilst we applaud the assistance that many parish councils are providing to their local communities in the current crisis, Government does not financially support parish councils. They are funded through a precept collected from within the overall council tax paid by the residents of the parish. There are no plans to change the funding arrangements for such councils.

On Saturday 18 April the Local Government Secretary announced an additional £1.6 billion of funding to support principal councils delivering essential frontline services, taking the total to £3.2 billion. Parish and Town Councils should liaise with the relevant principal authorities on how this money is allocated in their area.