Written question asked by Lord Swire (Conservative) on Tuesday, 25 July 2006, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 9 October 2006. It was answered by Barry Gardiner (Labour) on Monday, 9 October 2006 on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Countryside and Rights of Way Act

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the impact of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 on the numbers of walkers in the countryside.

Answer: The right of access under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 has been in place throughout England for nearly a year and implementation has been generally trouble free on the ground.The results of the 2005 England Leisure Visits Survey, expected to be published later this year by Natural England, will provide information on the number of people using the right of access. The results will provide a baseline against which to measure any impact of the new access rights on walkers' use of open country and registered common land.

Secondary information