Lord Greaves asked Her Majesty’s Government:
What is their estimate of the value to the economy of informal recreational activities such as walking, cycling and mountaineering.
Lord Davies of Oldham: My Lords, outdoor recreation forms a significant part of the UK tourism industry, generating £3.5 billion a year from walking, cycling and related activities, including overnight stays. Since 2003, the Government have invested £750,000 in promoting activity tourism through VisitBritain’s outdoor England marketing campaigns.
Lord Greaves: My Lords, I thank the Minister for that Answer. ...The Minister suggested that the Government regard such activity as high priority. Should it should not be a higher priority, given the potential for growth that it offers through its impact both on the economy and on the health of the people of this country?...
...Lord Addington: My Lords, the Minister has recognised the health benefits from this. How much are the Government prepared to spend on, for instance, making sure that footpaths are signposted and that many of them are available throughout the year, perhaps by building better surfaces? How can that be offset against higher spending in the Department of Health? If this calculation has not been done, is it not about time that it was?
Lord Davies of Oldham:
My Lords, my impression is that it is not Governments
that keep footpaths open. Governments can commit the countryside to be
available to the nation, as we did with the right to roam in the Act that we
passed a few years ago. It is the voluntary activity and insistence of
meritorious organisations such as the Ramblers Association that keeps footpaths
open and available to the public.
An 'available throughout the year' (see Lord Addington, above) surfaced path
unlawfully stopped up by Hertfordshire County Council during the foot and mouth
scare (it was not a risk and it did not fall into any of the categories that
were officially ordered to be stopped up, but it was stopped despite BADFA
protests.)
As to signposting, BADFA not HCC did the signposting on this path. BADFA did
not do the graffiti but shared the thought behind it.