Asked by: Anna Sabine (Liberal Democrat - Frome and East Somerset)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing a right of responsible access to the English countryside.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government recognises the importance of providing access to the outdoors for people’s health and wellbeing and is working to ensure that this access is safe and appropriate. We are committed to increasing access to nature, and have already set out several ambitious manifesto commitments to expand opportunities for the public to enjoy the outdoors, including the creation of nine new national river walks and three new national forests in England.
We are currently developing policy to improve access to nature, working closely with other government departments and key stakeholders, with further announcements expected in due course. In addition, we are already delivering key initiatives aimed at increasing access to green spaces and the countryside, including:
In addition, the Government has made the decision to repeal the cut-off date for the registration of historic rights of way, preventing the loss of hundreds of miles of unregistered paths. This will ensure that these paths remain available to the public for future generations. This change will be formally enacted when parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Anna Sabine (Liberal Democrat - Frome and East Somerset)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to increase access to the countryside.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government recognises the importance of providing access to the outdoors for people’s health and wellbeing and is working to ensure that this access is safe and appropriate. We are committed to increasing access to nature, and have already set out several ambitious manifesto commitments to expand opportunities for the public to enjoy the outdoors, including the creation of nine new national river walks and three new national forests in England.
We are currently developing policy to improve access to nature, working closely with other government departments and key stakeholders, with further announcements expected in due course. In addition, we are already delivering key initiatives aimed at increasing access to green spaces and the countryside, including:
In addition, the Government has made the decision to repeal the cut-off date for the registration of historic rights of way, preventing the loss of hundreds of miles of unregistered paths. This will ensure that these paths remain available to the public for future generations. This change will be formally enacted when parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Anna Sabine (Liberal Democrat - Frome and East Somerset)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of greater access to the countryside on (a) mental and (b) physical health.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government recognises the significant mental and physical health benefits that greater access to the countryside can provide. Spending time in nature is associated with improved mental and physical health, including lowering the risk of obesity and type two diabetes, reducing blood pressure and increasing levels of physical activity. There is also evidence to suggest that nature-based interventions are effective in the treatment and prevention of mental health conditions like depression and anxiety; this was demonstrated in the first phase of our Green Social Prescribing programme, which showed significant increases in participants’ wellbeing scores.
These health benefits in turn deliver economic benefit and reduce pressure on the NHS. In 2020, the estimated value of health benefits associated with outdoor recreation in the UK ranged from £6.2 billion to £8.4 billion (ONS, 2022), and it has been estimated that £2.1 billion in health costs could be saved annually if everyone in England had good access to greenspace (Natural England, 2009).
In recognition of these benefits, this Government has committed to improving the public’s access to green and blue spaces, including through initiatives such as our National River Walks.
Asked by: Anna Sabine (Liberal Democrat - Frome and East Somerset)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help tackle fly-tipping in rural areas.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government understands the difficulty that fly-tipping poses to all landowners. We have committed to forcing fly-tippers and vandals to clean up the mess that they have created and will provide further details on this in due course.
We continue to work with stakeholders, such as the National Farmers Union and local authorities, through the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group to share good practice, including how to prevent fly-tipping on private land. Various practical tools, including case studies and ‘how to’ guides on key issues such as setting up effective local partnerships, are available from their webpage at: https://www.keepbritaintidy.org/national-fly-tipping-prevention-group.
Asked by: Anna Sabine (Liberal Democrat - Frome and East Somerset)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to improve the enforcement of anti-fly tipping rules.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government has committed to forcing fly-tippers and vandals to clean up the mess that they have created. This will build on the sanctions already available for fly-tipping which include fixed penalty notices of up to £1000, seizing of vehicles and prosecution through the courts which can lead to a significant fine, a community sentence or even imprisonment. Sentencing is a matter for the independent courts.
We encourage councils to make good use of their enforcement powers, and we are considering if further guidance is needed.
Asked by: Anna Sabine (Liberal Democrat - Frome and East Somerset)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many people were prosecuted for illegal fly tipping in 2023-24.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Local authorities in England are required to report fly-tipping incidents and enforcement actions, such as prosecutions, to Defra, which are published annually at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/fly-tipping-in-england.
Data for the 2023/24 reporting year will be published on the 26 February 2025.
Asked by: Anna Sabine (Liberal Democrat - Frome and East Somerset)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to encourage investment in natural capital projects in Frome and East Somerset constituency.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency (EA) is developing an initiative called Heart of Wessex that incorporates large parts of the Frome and East Somerset constituency. It is led by the EA and works across Natural England, The Forestry Commission, local eNGOs and community groups. It is designed to leverage natural capital and ecosystem services to draw in largescale sustainable finance across the boundaries of Somerset, Dorset and Wiltshire.
We have also been working with Wessex Water and the Bristol Avon Catchment Partnership to develop a partnership project in the Cam & Wellow Catchment under the Water Industry National Environment Programme. This project will help drive large amounts of investment into natural capital, delivering nature-based solutions, habitat creation and water quality improvements across the constituency.
Other partnership projects in this constituency that we have supported, and which have invested in natural capital include:
Asked by: Anna Sabine (Liberal Democrat - Frome and East Somerset)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help protect peatlands in Somerset.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In our manifesto we said that we will expand nature-rich habitats such as wetlands and peat bogs.
In Somerset we are restoring and improving our peatlands through a number of projects, including the Nature for Climate Peatland Grant Scheme, Landscape Recovery, and the Paludiculture Exploration Fund.
Asked by: Anna Sabine (Liberal Democrat - Frome and East Somerset)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to encourage farmers to implement natural flood management measures.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The new Environmental Land Management (ELM) schemes aim to help the environment while supporting farming and food production. These will include support for farmers and land managers to adopt natural flood management approaches in a way that reduces flooding and coastal erosion risks to local communities.
Asked by: Anna Sabine (Liberal Democrat - Frome and East Somerset)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support (a) apple farmers and (b) cider makers whose crops have been affected by ermine moths in Somerset.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Dessert and culinary apples play an important role in local economies, with the sector worth a combined £188 million in 2023.
The Government is committed to championing British farming and, in partnership with the sector, we are considering a number of ways to achieve our ambitious, measurable and long-term goals for the sector, including development of new crop varieties that are more resistant to pests such as ermine moths.