Written question asked by Ben Goldsborough (Labour) on Wednesday, 1 July 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 6 July 2026. It was answered by Nesil Caliskan (Labour) on Thursday, 9 July 2026 on behalf of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

Recreation Spaces

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of access to high-quality green spaces across the UK.

Answer: The government is committed to ensuring everyone lives within a 15-minute walk of a green or blue space. In response to this commitment, earlier this year Defra published official statistics in development showing that 80% of people are within this range, in urban areas the figure is 78%.ith this figure at 78% in urban areas. Progress towards meeting the commitment is being made through work happening across government to both increase available natural space and make it more accessible, such as the MHCLG's National Planning Policy Framework reform and the Green Flag Award scheme, Natural England’s Green Infrastructure Framework and Defra’s Accessibility funding.

Secondary information