I have been asked to reply.
In its role as a statutory consultee, Natural England has been reviewing, and offering guidance on, individual rights of way improvement plans as they are being prepared. The quality of those adopted so far is reported to be generally very good. By the middle of last month, 14 per cent. of local highway authorities in England had adopted plans—well in advance of the 21 November 2007 deadline. A further 66 per cent. were expected to meet the deadline. I wrote to the chief executives of the remaining 20 per cent. on 27 February 2007 to remind them of their statutory obligations.
I cannot comment on the progress of rights of way improvement plans in Wales as the National Assembly Government have delegated authority in this area.