Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to support local authorities in maintaining parks in cities.

The Government supports local authorities in the maintenance of urban parks and green spaces in many ways. The Government’s Green Flag Awards scheme helps to increase access to quality green spaces and sets the standard for those spaces to meet the needs of the communities they serve. Furthermore, the Green Infrastructure Framework launched by Natural England in January 2023 will help local authorities and developers incorporate green infrastructure into development plans to improve access to nature on our doorsteps and build resilience to climate change.

The £2.6 billion UK Shared Prosperity Fund provides funding for investment in local growth, and a further £900 million for 2025-26 was announced at the Autumn Budget. Local authorities can decide how to use funding to best serve their communities, including investing in improving and developing their parks. This Government will also support local authorities by moving towards multi-year funding settlements, ending competitive bidding for pots of money and reforming the local audit system.