Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Steve Barclay and Mick Whitley

Thursday 14th March 2024 Commons Chamber

[Mick Whitley (Birkenhead) (Lab)]

T2. The public have the right to access just 8% of land in England, including thousands of access islands that can only be reached by trespassing. With polling now showing that 62% of the public support the extension of the right to roam through England, are the Government now prepared to commit to overhauling our outdated system of access rights and to follow Scotland in enshrining the right to roam in law?

[Steve Barclay]

The hon. Gentleman’s question merely highlights a fundamental difference between the Front Benchers of the two parties: I want to work with farmers, which is why through SFI—the sustainable farming incentive—we are looking at permissive access, where we pay incentives to farmers to provide access to their land; but Labour would impose a top-down requirement with the right to roam, rather than work constructively with our farmers and landowners, which is the approach that the Conservatives are taking.