Written questions by MacNae.

Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing new river trails designed for multi-use.

We are actively engaging with stakeholders to identify suitable locations for the nine new national river walks. Wherever feasible, we aim to incorporate multi-user access to ensure inclusivity.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department will take steps to publish a green paper to expand access to nature.

The Government is committed to taking action to improve access to nature and recognises the importance of this issue. We are already taking steps to expand public access to nature, for example through our commitment to creating nine new river walks and three new national forests and will continue to explore measures to increase this further.

Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Outdoor Recreation and Access to Nature's report entitled, Outdoors For All.

The Government welcomes the All Party Parliamentary Group for Outdoor Recreation and Access to Nature's report and agrees with the report’s conclusion that time spent outdoors is vital for both physical and mental wellbeing. We are committed to expanding opportunities for people to connect with nature. Our current initiatives include the creation of nine new national river walks and three new national forests in England, helping to bring nature closer to communities across the country. We are actively shaping policy to support wider access to nature, working in collaboration with other departments and key delivery partners.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to instruct Natural England to develop proposals for new Special Protection Areas for vulnerable bird species.

In May 2025, the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) released the Third Special Protection Areas (SPAs) Review (Phase 2), assessing the UK’s SPA network and its protection of bird species. The report offers guidance from JNCC and the UK’s four statutory conservation bodies, which administrations must consider. Ministers and agencies, including Natural England (NE), are reviewing it. A key focus is to ensure that existing sites are in favourable condition, but the Government may also, if necessary, direct NE to implement the report’s recommendations, including designating new SPAs.

What assessment he has made of the (a) mental and (b) physical health benefits of having access to (i) green and (ii) blue spaces for recreation.

The ability to access green and blue space is associated with improved physical and mental health and increased healthy life expectancy.The Government recognises the importance of providing access to the outdoors for people's health and wellbeing, and has committed to creating nine new national river walks and three new national forests in England, expanding access to the great outdoors.

What assessment she has made of the potential benefit to children of having access to (a) green spaces, (b) blue spaces and (c) other types of nature as part of their education.

The department knows that a connection with nature is vital for young people, not only for their mental and physical health but in developing a deeper understanding of the important role nature plays in the protection of our planet.There is a growing body of evidence showing a link between greener school settings and a range of benefits for children, including improved learning outcomes, behaviour, concentration, and engagement (Public Health England, 2020). Officials work closely with the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs and Natural England to gain insight into children’s access to nature. The department has been working with the University of Oxford on research to assess the impact of nature-based programmes delivered through secondary schools.The National Education Nature Park, a key initiative of the department’s Sustainability and Climate Change Strategy, empowers children and young people across England to benefit from connecting with nature regardless of their background or where they live. It brings learning to life and develops essential skills for the future.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the legislative proposal to remove Sport England as a statutory consultee in planning decisions, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the protection of playing fields.

Access to open green spaces and playing fields is crucial to the government’s ambitions to increase physical activity levels across the nation and deliver on its Health Mission. We remain committed to protecting and extending our playing field capacity. The National Planning Policy Framework ensures these interests are maintained in the planning system. Sport England plays an important role in developing local development and strategic plans, and through the publication of guidance and advice. The government is committed to reviewing the existing statutory consultee arrangements to ensure they align with the government’s ambitions for growth. As per the Written Ministerial Statement I made on 10 March 2025 (HCWS510), we intend to consult on removing a limited number of statutory consultees, including Sports England. We also intend to review the range and type of planning applications on which statutory consultees are required to be consulted and consider whether some types of application could be removed, or addressed by alternative means of engagement and provision of expert advice. Further details will be set out in due course.

What steps he is taking to involve laboratories in the in-service evaluation of newborn screening for spinal muscular atrophy.

Planning and development work to shape the in-service evaluation (ISE) of newborn screening for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is ongoing. This is being steered by the SMA partnership board that includes Department officials, the UK National Screening Committee, NHS England, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), and patient and public representatives. The SMA partnership board has three sub-groups, one of which is the laboratory subgroup. This subgroup has experts with a broad range of experience of laboratory testing of newborn blood spots both in the United Kingdom and internationally. Their expertise ensures that laboratory requirements for successfully rolling out SMA ISE are fully considered and represented in the ongoing planning work.The number of laboratories in England that will form part of the ISE is under consideration by the SMA partnership board led by NHS England.The geographical coverage of the ISE is also under consideration by the SMA partnership board, and will be determined by the number of laboratories with the technology and processes needed to roll out the ISE.Earlier this summer, the NIHR advertised the research call for the SMA ISE, with further information available at the following link:https://www.nihr.ac.uk/funding/spinal-muscular-atrophy-screening/2025338A decision on the shape and roll out of the ISE will be made after the research call process has concluded.

What steps he is taking to help ensure that the UK National Screening Committee’s in-service evaluation of newborn screening for spinal muscular atrophy covers a wide geography.

Planning and development work to shape the in-service evaluation (ISE) of newborn screening for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is ongoing. This is being steered by the SMA partnership board that includes Department officials, the UK National Screening Committee, NHS England, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), and patient and public representatives. The SMA partnership board has three sub-groups, one of which is the laboratory subgroup. This subgroup has experts with a broad range of experience of laboratory testing of newborn blood spots both in the United Kingdom and internationally. Their expertise ensures that laboratory requirements for successfully rolling out SMA ISE are fully considered and represented in the ongoing planning work.The number of laboratories in England that will form part of the ISE is under consideration by the SMA partnership board led by NHS England.The geographical coverage of the ISE is also under consideration by the SMA partnership board, and will be determined by the number of laboratories with the technology and processes needed to roll out the ISE.Earlier this summer, the NIHR advertised the research call for the SMA ISE, with further information available at the following link:https://www.nihr.ac.uk/funding/spinal-muscular-atrophy-screening/2025338A decision on the shape and roll out of the ISE will be made after the research call process has concluded.

Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of OpenActive on (a) Sport England's uniting the movement strategy and (b) reducing physical inactivity.

Award agreements for organisations that receive Lottery funding from Sport England contain a clause that states they should implement relevant open data standards - this includes OpenActive, Active Places, Open Referral and other open standards relevant to the outcomes they are delivering. Over 120 organisations are now publishing their opportunity data and are active members of the OpenActive community.More than 4,000 organisers of physical activity opportunities are currently featured in OpenActive data.

Whether he plans to incorporate OpenActive data into the NHS app to help patients find local physical activity opportunities relevant to health conditions.

NHS England has no current plans to incorporate OpenActive data into the NHS App in this way. However, the Government recognises that data plays an important role in supporting the delivery of high-quality public services, helping to achieve the shift from sickness to prevention and building an NHS fit for the future.The 10-Year Health Plan sets out to build movement back into everyday life and get millions more people moving. Physical activity is part of this Government’s mission to improve health. Work is already underway through the NHS Better Health campaign and the ‘We are Undefeatable’ campaign to promote movement, remove barriers and make it easier for people with long term conditions to access physical activity. Raising awareness of the value of everyday movement, such as walking, cycling and wheeling is key in our mission to help people keep fit and healthy for longer.

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of integrating OpenActive data standards into NHS clinical care pathways.

The Health and Social Care Act 2022, the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 and the Health and Social Care Information Standards (Procedure) Regulations 2025 establish a new legislative framework for setting mandatory information standards for public and private health and adult social care providers and IT suppliers in the health and care system. This will provide the basis for ensuring interoperability between IT systems.Standards will be introduced in a staged process following the procedure set out in the Health and Social Care Information Standards (Procedure) Regulations 2025. No assessment has yet been made of the potential of the OpenActive data standards.

Innovation and Technology, whether his Department plans to instruct the Data Standards Authority to recognise OpenActive as an official government data standard for physical activity information.

The Data Standards Authority is currently considering the adoption of OpenActive as an official Government standard to improve data about physical activity opportunities and making it available for anyone to access and use. The Data Standards Authority is working closely with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and other organisations to take the standard through its approval process.

Media and Sport, whether she plans to mandate the OpenActive data standard for publicly-funded (a) leisure facilities and (b) activity providers.

Award agreements for organisations that receive Lottery funding from Sport England contain a clause that states they should implement relevant open data standards - this includes OpenActive, Active Places, Open Referral and other open standards relevant to the outcomes they are delivering. Over 120 organisations are now publishing their opportunity data and are active members of the OpenActive community.More than 4,000 organisers of physical activity opportunities are currently featured in OpenActive data.

Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to ensure (a) the adoption of data standards and (b) funding for data infrastructure across Government departments.

The Data Standards Authority within the Government Digital Service is responsible for setting data standards for adoption across government. Data standards that are approved by the Data Standards Authority are included in the Technology Code of Practice and Service Standard which must be followed by an organisation’s digital and technology assurance board. Throughout the recent spending review, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) supported HM Treasury decision-making by providing expert advice on digital data and technology submissions. At the spending review, it was outlined how funding had been prioritised for digital programmes in the following areas: digital public infrastructure, for the public and for government, and modernised public services by harnessing the power of AI. The government has provided funding to build strong digital and technology foundations, such as improvements to digital public infrastructure, which data infrastructure is a core component of. This includes the creation of a new National Data Library to join up data across the public sector. DSIT and HMT will be monitoring the delivery of key funded programmes through the oversight of the Digital Inter-Ministerial Group, as well as through wider GDS performance, assurance and spend controls mechanisms.

Pursuant to the Answer of 8 July 2025 to Question 64314 on Homicide: Parents, on what date her Department plans for the commencement of Section 18 of the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024.

The Government is committed to implementing Section 18 of the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024, which introduces an automatic restriction on the exercise of parental responsibility where one parent has been sentenced of the murder or voluntary manslaughter of the other. The provision will come into force on a day appointed via regulations made by the Secretary of State, following the development of the necessary procedural and legislative frameworks to support its effective delivery.Officials are currently working with key delivery partners including Local Authorities, the Crown Prosecution Service, the National Police Chiefs Council and HMCTS across the criminal and family justice systems, to ensure effective implementation. This includes potential consequential amendments to the Family Procedure Rules 2010 and Criminal Procedure Rules 2020, as well as supporting Practice Directions and statutory guidance.

Whether he plans to ban the sale of (a) e-bikes and (b) scooters that are not legally allowed to be used on roads.

The UK’s legal framework for product safety places responsibility for the safety of e-bikes and e-scooters on the businesses manufacturing or importing them. The Office for Product Safety and Standards and Local Authority Trading Standards enforce the regulations.Vehicles sold for a legitimate and permitted use but which are used on public land illegally is an enforcement matter for the police, under the Department for Transport’s road safety regime.

Whether his Department plans to introduce a national e-bike safety kitemark scheme to distinguish (a) legally compliant and (b) fire-tested products.

Under existing product safety legislation, all consumer products must be safe when they are placed on the UK market. For e-bikes, this includes carrying UKCA (or CE) marking to demonstrate the manufacturer has undertaken all relevant assessments to assure safety in normal use. It is an offence for such products to be supplied without this necessary marking. Many industry-led voluntary schemes like kitemarks and trusted trader initiatives can help consumers identify reputable products. The kitemark is a registered quality certification mark of the British Standards Institution and is owned and operated by them.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of introducing legal duties on online marketplaces to (a) verify sellers of e-bikes and (b) remove unsafe e-bike listings.

All products placed on the market in the UK must be safe. However, the current legislative framework was not designed with online supply chains in mind. This is a key reason why Government has introduced the Product Regulation and Metrology Bill, which provides powers to update the framework and improve the safety of products sold online. Following Royal Assent, we intend to consult on using the Bill’s powers to modernise the responsibilities of online marketplaces, so that they take steps to prevent unsafe products being made available to consumers and to ensure that sellers comply with product safety obligations.

Whether his Department plans to implement (a) the proposed PAS 7250 specification and (b) other safety standards for e-bikes.

As part of its work tackling unsafe e-bikes, e-scooters and their batteries, the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS), in my Department, has commissioned the British Standards Institution to develop the publicly available specification (PAS) 7250. This will focus on the technical safety of lithium-ion batteries for e-bikes, e-scooters and e-bike conversion kits, and is expected to be published within 18 months. The new PAS will help manufacturers and other businesses to comply with their legal obligations for product safety. OPSS is also engaging with stakeholders on future updates to e-bike standard EN 15194:2017.