Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of car parking charges in hospital car parks on access to healthcare.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
It is important that the National Health Service is as accessible as possible to those that need it most. That is why the NHS already provides free hospital car parking to those in greatest need. This includes disabled blue badge holders, frequent outpatient attenders, parents of children staying overnight and NHS staff working overnight.
More widely, all NHS trusts are expected to follow the published NHS Car Parking Guidance. This states that car parking charges, where they exist, should be reasonable for the area, with further information available at the following link:
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the clarity of the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023 relating to publicly accessible land.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Department acknowledges that the Levelling-Up and Regeneration Act 2023 contains a number of provisions relevant to the planning, management and use of land, and considers these to be clear in their intended scope and application. Section 245 strengthens the statutory duty on relevant authorities in National Parks and National Landscapes by requiring them to seek to further the purpose of conserving and enhancing natural beauty when exercising their functions. The Act also supports the safeguarding and integration of walking and cycling networks through the planning system, building on existing policy in the National Planning Policy Framework.
More broadly, the Government has announced, as part of the Environmental Improvement Plan 2025, a commitment to publish an Access to Nature Green Paper to consult on proposals to increase access and engagement with nature. The Green Paper will test a range of policy options and invite views from stakeholders and the public, helping us to gather evidence and test approaches before decisions are made. This consultation will play an important role in shaping the development of future policy in this area.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps is she taking to reduce drought in York and North Yorkshire over the summer season.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Yorkshire's water resources have fully recovered after a notably wet autumn and early winter. The likelihood of a return to drought conditions in 2026 are now the same as they are in the late winter of any recent year. The Environment Agency, Yorkshire Water, and other organisations are reviewing their drought response plans. This will include exploring all options for balancing the need for security of drinking water, for water needed by industry and agriculture, and to maintain the significant leisure industry in a region with two national parks. These needs for water resources must always balance with protecting the valuable habitats and environment of Yorkshire.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of proposed changes to biodiversity net gain thresholds on the financial stability of National Parks.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The department will publish Government responses to the biodiversity net gain (BNG) consultations in the new year. They will be accompanied by evidence annexes which will include the proportion of developments expected to be exempt from BNG following the changes announced in December.
In December the Government announced it is proposing to introduce an area-based exemption for small sites that are 0.2 hectares or less and will also consult on an additional targeted exemption for residential brownfield development. National Park Authorities will continue to be able to engage with BNG, including providing off-site BNG units for developers who cannot achieve all of their BNG onsite. The Government is also introducing BNG for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects next year, which will support demand for units from the BNG off-site market.
Asked by: John Whitby (Labour - Derbyshire Dales)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when her Department intends to bring forward legislative proposals to implement the reforms to National Parks governance and purposes announced in December 2024.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to implementing the reforms announced in December 2024 as soon as parliamentary time allows.
As set out in the revised Environment Improvement Plan we will champion Protected Landscapes by refreshing our national vision for these special places, eliminating bureaucratic barriers and ensuring teams have the tools and resources to achieve our ambitions.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to establish a cross-departmental office for green spaces.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The government does not plan to establish a new cross-departmental office for green spaces. Cross-government coordination will continue through the Parks Working Group, which brings together sector expertise with departmental representatives to improve parks and green spaces, with a focus on equality of access.
Improving access to green and blue spaces remains a priority. As part of the Environmental Improvement Plan 2025, the government has announced that it will bring forward an Access to Nature Green Paper to consult on proposals to improve and expand public access to the outdoors. Furthermore, the MHCLG-owned Green Flag Award sets the national standard for parks and green spaces aiming to meet the needs of the communities they serve.
Local authorities play an important role in improving local green space. The Spending Review 2025 provides over £5 billion of new grant funding, most of which is unringfenced, over the next three years for local services that communities rely on.
Finally, the Pride in Place strategy will deliver up to £5 billion over ten years to up to 350 deprived neighbourhoods, supporting a wide range of community assets, including community green spaces.
Asked by: Louie French (Conservative - Old Bexley and Sidcup)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many (a) registered parks, (b) gardens and (c) designed landscapes are currently classed as at risk in each local authority.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Registered parks and gardens in England are designated by Historic England. Data on the number that exist within each local authority area can be found by consulting the online National Heritage List for England. Data on the number of designed landscapes in each local authority that are currently classed as being at risk can be found by consulting Historic England’s online Heritage at Risk Register. Both resources can be filtered by local authority.
Asked by: Louie French (Conservative - Old Bexley and Sidcup)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will publish the most recent data held by her Department on the number of registered parks and gardens within each local authority area.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Registered parks and gardens in England are designated by Historic England. Data on the number that exist within each local authority area can be found by consulting the online National Heritage List for England. Data on the number of designed landscapes in each local authority that are currently classed as being at risk can be found by consulting Historic England’s online Heritage at Risk Register. Both resources can be filtered by local authority.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of excluding car parks, roads and other forms of hardstanding from the definition of Previously Developed Land under regulation 21 of the Building Safety Levy (England) Regulations 2025 on housing viability.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Works on previously developed sites will be charged at the 50% discount rate for the Building Safety Levy. This is because of the higher costs of developing a previously developed/ brownfield site, and the greater risk that these projects become unviable.
As set out in our response to technical consultation, we have implemented a definition of “Previously Developed Sites” in the Building Safety Levy regulations which draws on the definition of “Previously Developed Land” set out in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). Appropriate amendments have been made to reflect that the NPPF definition is primarily designed to inform planning policy whereas the Building Safety Levy definition is used in regulations to apply a tax discount.
We recognise the issues highlighted, and we are considering whether the approach in regulations could be more closely aligned with the NPPF, while maintaining the level of precision required for a taxation system.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether potential housing development on (i) supermarkets with car parks, (ii) edge of town retail parks, (iii) train station car parks and (iv) former industrial sites where more than 25% of each site is made up of hardstanding are brownfield.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) published on 12 December 2024 broadened the definition of brownfield land, set a strengthened expectation that applications on brownfield land will be approved, and made clear that plans should promote an uplift in density in urban areas. The definition in question can be found in the NPPF glossary on gov.uk here.