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 ensure that opportunities to improve access to the natural environment are included in the Environmental Land Management scheme.

Our Environmental Land Management (ELM) scheme is the cornerstone of our new agricultural policy. Founded on the principle of "public money for public goods", ELM is intended to provide a powerful vehicle for achieving the goals of the 25 Year Environment Plan and commitment to net zero emissions by 2050, while supporting our rural economy.

Farmers and other land managers may enter into agreements to be paid for delivering the following public goods:

• clean air
• clean and plentiful water
• thriving plants and wildlife
• reduction in and protection from environmental hazards
• beauty, heritage and engagement with the environment
• mitigation of and adaptation to climate change

Beauty, heritage and engagement with the environment is a public good identified in the 25 Year Environment Plan and an important objective of ELM. ELM could support this through providing funding for access to infrastructure or educational visits, for example.

We will engage with a range of stakeholders as we develop the scheme.