Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment has been made of the effectiveness of active-travel funding allocations to local authorities.

Active travel funding allocations are based on capability level as assessed through Active Travel England’s annual capability ratings process. The ratings are used to allocate funding and to provide the right support to authorities to help them develop capability to deliver high quality schemes. This process has resulted in an increase in the number of active travel schemes completed on schedule from 58% in 2023/4 to 69% in 2024/5.

Since being established in 2022, Active Travel England (ATE) has provided over £560 million of funding to authorities. ATE have overseen the creation of over 400 miles of new walking and cycling routes (and hundreds of safer crossing and junctions) that the above funding has provided.

There has also been a 9% improvement in the (published) assessment by Active Travel England on local councils’ ability to deliver schemes overall (from 2022/23 to 2023/24).