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Select Committee · Public Accounts Committee

Active travel in England

Status: Closed Opened: 24 May 2023 Closed: 14 Feb 2024 4 recommendations 27 conclusions 1 report

Active Travel describes people making their everyday ‘journeys for a purpose’, for example their commute to work, by walking, cycling or skating, rather than motorised transport. The Department of Transport (DfT) owns active travel policy, and in 2017 and 2022 published cycling and walking investment strategies which set out its aims for increasing active travel …

Clear

Reports

1 report
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Seventy-Fifth Report - Active travel in England HC 1335 3 Nov 2023 31 Responded

Recommendations & Conclusions

2 items
4 Conclusion Seventy-Fifth Report - Active travel in… Acknowledged

Lead a proactive approach to promote active travel and address public safety concerns.

DfT’s communications to the public have not been enough to help tackle perceptions that active travel is unsafe or to encourage more people to take part. People’s perception of the safety of active travel is as important as actual physical safety. There is significant public concern around safety and this …

Government response. The government intends to publish a new road safety strategy and will explore aligning it with a campaign to promote active travel benefits and communicate via local partners. It also states it previously addressed safety concerns by communicating revisions to …
HM Treasury
23 Conclusion Seventy-Fifth Report - Active travel in… Acknowledged

Over half of local authorities demonstrate low active travel capability and ambition.

The NAO reported that DfT expects ATE to have a key role in developing the capability of local authorities. This includes the ability of local authorities to plan local transport networks where active travel is integrated with other modes. ATE has begun its work with local authorities that it deemed …

Government response. The government agrees with the implied recommendation regarding local authority capability, stating it is implemented. It details current scheme monitoring and evaluation thresholds, and notes ATE is developing revised evaluation approaches while continuing to assess and rate local authority capability, …
HM Treasury

Oral evidence sessions

1 session
Date Witnesses
19 Jul 2023 Dame Bernadette Kelly DCB · Department for Transport, Danny Williams · Active Travel England, Jessica Matthew · Department for Transport View ↗

Correspondence

3 letters
DateDirectionTitle
11 Sep 2023 — Correspondence from Mike Kane, MP for Wythenshawe and Sale East, re written evi…
7 Sep 2023 — Correspondence from Dame Bernadette Kelly DCB, Permanent Secretary, Department …
19 Jul 2023 — Correspondence from Dame Bernadette Kelly DCB, Permanent Secretary, Department …