Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their estimate of the amount of government, public-sector and third-sector funding and resources expended so far on preparing for and considering the revision of National Park boundaries.

For clarity, the costs referred to here are for the preparation and consideration of proposals for boundary variations to the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales National Parks.

The costs to Defra to date, including for the public inquiry, are £122,360. This includes Planning Inspectorate costs, the cost of an inquiry manager, notice of the inquiry, and the costs of venues for the inquiry. In addition, there are costs of staff time which have not been quantified.

The estimated costs to Natural England are £490,000 since 2009. This includes the costs of extensive technical assessments of the areas concerned and the production of detailed reports, public and statutory consultations, printing costs, and the costs to Natural England of the public inquiry. It does not include staff costs.

No estimate has been made of any funding and resources expended by the third sector.