Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of changes in the level of active travel funding on (a) the number of journeys undertaken (i) on foot or (ii) by bike, (b) air quality in towns and cities, (c) overall carbon emissions and (d) the transition to net-zero.

This Government has done more than any other to support walking and cycling and over the course of this Parliament will be investing over £3 billion in active travel from a wide range of funding streams. The Government’s most recent assessment of progress towards meeting its active travel goals was set out in the Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy report to Parliament in July 2022. The Department will provide an updated assessment in its next report to Parliament in due course which will be published alongside the third statutory Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy (CWIS3).

The carbon savings from active travel make up a relatively small percentage of the total projected carbon savings outlined in the Carbon Budget Delivery Plan. As such, the impact of changes to active travel funding on the ability of the government to meet its overall climate change targets is likely to be small. We will continue to monitor progress, and will adapt and take further action if needed to decarbonise transport in line with our carbon budgets and 2050 net zero target.

Active travel schemes can also play an important role in improving air quality, but this will vary from one area to another and the impacts will also depend on the extent to which active travel journeys replace journeys made by other modes, particularly the private car.