Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to help people living in rural villages to benefit from safe active travel routes to larger urban areas to access (a) schools and (b) retail and other services.

Active Travel England (ATE) provides funding and support to all local authorities in England, including those in rural areas. For example, ATE provides training on infrastructure design guidance and is developing specific guidance for good practice application in rural areas. In 2024, ATE also provided £1 million to the ten National Parks in England to help them develop better links to rural towns and villages.