Oral QuestionDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

What steps he is taking to improve young people's access to nature for outdoor activities.

Tabled: 12 June 2025Answered: 19 June 2025

Asked by

Andy MacNae

LabourRossendale and Darwen

Answering Minister

the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Answer from Hansard

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Mary Creagh)

I thank my hon. Friend, who is a distinguished mountaineer and mountain guide, for his personal courage and bravery in climbing various very tall mountains, and for championing access to the outdoors. The Government are introducing the national youth guarantee and investing £1.5 million in bursaries to help disadvantaged young people to access the great outdoors. We cannot love what we do not know, so we are delighted to be introducing the new natural history GCSE, in order to build on the UK’s unrivalled history and research in this area.