Written questions by Macdonald.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the pressures on water resources in Norfolk; and what steps he is taking with local partners to reduce those pressures.

The entire eastern England region is classified as seriously water stressed. Norfolk is one of the driest parts of the country with only 600mm rainfall per year which is two thirds of the national average. Norfolk supports some of England’s most precious and sensitive river and wetland habitats. Climate change is bringing more frequent extreme events such as droughts, floods and increasing pressure on the environment and water supplies. Rainfall this spring has been 40% of average, putting pressure on the environment and water supplies. Natural England (NE) has an ongoing monitoring programme for protected sites identifying their condition and the pressures acting on them. NE is working in partnership with Defra bodies and stakeholders to protect and restore our water-dependent environment and develop sustainable resilient water supplies for the future. The Environment Agency (EA) is working with Water Resources East, public water companies, agriculture, and other sectors to ensure water abstractions are environmentally sustainable. In Norfolk, abstraction licences were last reviewed and re-issued in 2017/18 and are due for review in 2029/30. The EA closely monitors water resources and advises abstractors on water availability via the Water Abstraction Alerts service. Due to continuing hot and dry conditions Norfolk will move into Prolonged Dry Weather on 21 July. The EA has, in partnership with NE, Cambridge Water, Essex & Suffolk Water, Affinity Water, and Anglian Water, published a guide on Shared Standards in Water Efficiency for Local Plans. It supports Local Planning Authorities in delivering sustainable growth across East Anglia, highlighting the region’s serious water stress. The guide promotes clean, sustainable water supply as essential for growth and nature recovery.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to (a) encourage people to access nature and (b) ensure visitors to the countryside are informed about the statutory guidance entitled The Countryside Code: advice for countryside visitors, last updated 26 May 2023.

The Government recognises the importance of providing access to the outdoors for people’s health and wellbeing and is working to ensure this is safe and appropriate. This is why we have set out our ambitious manifesto commitments to create nine new national river walks and three new national forests in England, expanding access to the great outdoors. We will make further announcements on plans to develop policy on access to nature in due course. The Government is also already delivering several policies to increase access to nature including:Working to complete the King Charles III England Coast Path which, at around 2,700 miles, will be the longest waymarked and maintained coast walking route in the world. Over 2,000 miles have now been approved as King Charles III England Coast Path, with over 1,000 miles already open. It will also create 250,000 hectares of new open access land within the coastal margin.Designating Wainwright’s Coast to Coast route across the north of England as a National Trail.Delivering the £16m ‘Access for All’ programme, which consists of a package of targeted measures in our protected landscapes, national trails, forests and the wider countryside to make access to green and blue spaces more inclusive. The Countryside Code was refreshed and relaunched in 2021 and a long-term campaign to promote the messages of the code began. In 2023, we also released a version of the Code for land managers. The Code sets out the rules that we all must follow to enjoy visits to the countryside safely and responsibly.