Access to Nature Green Paper

Baroness Bull Excerpts

Wednesday 3rd June 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)]

That kind of responsibility needs to be part of the Green Paper. If we encourage people to get out and about, they need to understand responsible behaviour. On the other issues spoken to by the noble Baroness, it is important that we work with farmers and local communities, but also with local authorities. They have responsibility for the maintenance of footpaths, for example, and proper maintenance makes a difference.

[Baroness Bull (CB)]

My Lords, the Minister has talked a lot about access for children, which is, of course, very important, and she has used the word “walk” quite a lot. Access to nature is equally important for people who do not have the ability to walk: I am thinking in particular of elderly people with mobility issues. It is not just the green spaces themselves but the roads that lead to them, which often do not have something as simple as a dropped kerb. Can the Minister make sure that the Green Paper covers access for people of all ages and all abilities?

[Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)]

The noble Baroness raises such an important point. What I have not said, of course, is that with the new National River Walk and with other walks that we are doing, such as the Coast to Coast being redesignated as the National Trail, we are improving accessibility. This is in order to ensure that people in wheelchairs, those who are less able and people with pushchairs can get out and about. We are also looking to ensure that we have better cycle routes, better access for horses when people want to ride, and also for canoeing and using the rivers.