Ministers urge councils to give Parkrun the go ahead
They have sent a letter to local councils
Cabinet ministers are urging local councils to allow Parkrun events to resume on a weekly basis.
In a letter, culture secretary Oliver Dowden and communities secretary Robert Jenrick described exercise as "vital" for people's mental wellbeing as well as physical health.
It comes after Parkrun announced on Friday that its planned resumption of events would not go ahead due to less than half the venues approving the runs.
What is Parkrun?
Parkruns are free events that take place every week in local parks and open spaces.
People gather on Saturday mornings to walk, jog or run 5km.
Why can't they go ahead at the moment?
Under Government guidelines, Parkrun events should have been allowed to resume from 29th March.
However, due to a limited number of events being given permission by their local councils to go ahead, organisers have postponed the return of the 5k runs until 26th June.
Although 250 events were given the all clear for 5th June, organisers have said that this is not enough "to confirm a safe return" due to fears of overcrowding.
Parkrun needs at least 80% of events to go ahead to ensure people do not travel across the country to attend Parkruns in other areas.
What did the ministers' letter say?
In a letter addressed to all the councils in England, ministers confirmed that these events could go ahead with an unlimited number of runners as long as they met Covid guidelines.
They also highlighted the importance of sport in people's everyday lives "as we recover from the pandemic" and argued that it was "in the interest of public health" that they restart.
When is it likely that Parkruns will resume?
Currently Parkrun hopes to resume events on 26th June in England Northern Ireland and 3rd July in Scotland. It is yet to confirm the start date in Wales.