Baroness Scott of Needham Market

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.

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.

While we are unable to publish funding allocations for future years, we continue to invest significantly in improving access to nature across the country. For example, our four-year £33 million Access for All programme has supported a targeted package of measures across our Protected Landscapes, National Trails, Forestry England sites and the wider countryside to make access to green and blue spaces more inclusive. In 2025–26, £17.06 million was allocated to this programme. This funding has supported practical improvements such as resurfaced paths, replacing stiles with accessible gates, and installing changing places and toilets, enabling more people of all abilities to enjoy the outdoors.

Additionally, we continue to invest in completing the King Charles III England Coast Path, which at around 2,700 miles will be the longest waymarked and maintained coastal walking route in the world. Over 2,500 miles have now been approved, and more than 1,800 miles are already open. The route will also create around 250,000 hectares of new open access land within the coastal margin. We are also investing in improvements to Wainwright’s Coast to Coast route so that it can be designated as a National Trail.

The annual stakeholder engagement survey is now closed, and the results are currently being reviewed. The survey covers issues across the Defra brief, including nature and outdoor recreation.

We have announced our intention to remove the 2031 cut-off date for the recording of historic rights of way, to support and enhance public access to nature. Removing this deadline will ensure that historic routes valued by communities can continue to be identified and protected for future generations.

This repeal will require primary legislation, and we will bring forward the necessary provisions when parliamentary time allows.

Local highway authorities are responsible for the management and maintenance of public rights of way, including ensuring that they are free from obstructions and available for public use. They have statutory duties to assert and protect the public’s right to use these routes and to take action where obstructions are identified.

Each authority is also required to prepare and maintain a Rights of Way Improvement Plan, which assesses the condition of the local network and sets out how it will be improved for all users. These plans are publicly available on the relevant authority’s website.

Local authorities are best placed to determine local priorities and allocate resources accordingly, taking account of the needs of their communities and the condition of the rights of way in their area. The Government continues to provide local authorities with funding through the Local Government Finance Settlement, and it is for them to decide how best to use this funding, including for maintaining and improving public rights of way.

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.

The Pathways to Work Green Paper was published on 18 March 2025 and closed on 30 June 2025, setting out plans and proposals to reform health and disability benefits and employment support.

We ran a programme of consultation events to hear from disabled people and people with health conditions directly, including 7 virtual events and 11 in-person events across England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.

As part of the consultation, we welcomed views on raising the age someone can access the Universal Credit Health Element to 22. This consultation received over 45,000 responses and we are considering responses; we will set out our plans in due course.

If we proceed with this change, we will consider what special provisions need to be put in place for those young people where engagement with the Youth Guarantee is not a realistic prospect.

As part of the Pathways to Work Green Paper consultation, the Government invited views on the proposal to raise the minimum age for accessing the Universal Credit (UC) health element to 22. The consultation closed on 30 June, and we are now considering responses. The Government’s conclusion will be announced in due course.

The content of the myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), delivery plan has not yet been finalised. The responses to the 2023 interim delivery plan consultation, along with continued close engagement with stakeholders, will inform the development of the final ME/CFS delivery plan, which we aim to publish by the end of March. The plan will focus on boosting research, improving attitudes and education, and bettering the lives of people with this debilitating disease.

To support this, we have reconvened the ME/CFS Task and Finish Group, including senior Department and cross-Government officials, ME/CFS specialists, and representatives from NHS England, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, the devolved administrations, and ME/CFS charities and organisations, in the development of the final delivery plan for ME/CFS.

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.