Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Seventy-Fifth Report - Active travel in England
Public Accounts Committee
HC 1335
Published 3 November 2023
Recommendations
22
Accepted
Investment in public transport must be integrated with active travel for safe pedestrian access.
Recommendation
ATE expects the largest increases in rates of active travel participation will come from more people walking and wheeling, rather than cycling. It recognised that buses and trams can increase the number of walking trips taken..51 However, ATE told us …
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Government Response Summary
The government accepted the recommendation, outlining plans for research into disabled bus/coach user experience to improve roadside infrastructure. It noted Network North funding enables local authorities to improve access to public transport stops, and ATE will ensure new active travel routes to bus stops are effectively designed and delivered.
HM Treasury
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Conclusions (17)
2
Conclusion
Accepted
DfT is not on track to meet its objectives to increases rates of active travel by 2025. DfT told us that its targets to increase active travel were deliberately ambitious. They include objectives to double rates of cycling and to increase the proportion of children walking to school by 6 …
Government Response Summary
The government states it uses National Travel Survey data and is working to increase its sample size. Active Travel England (ATE) is developing a revised evaluation approach for local schemes and exploring locally representative datasets, while also developing an impact evaluation with DLUHC.
3
Conclusion
Accepted
DfT has not done enough to understand the impact and benefits of the £2.3 billion of taxpayers’ money it has spent on active travel. DfT spent £2.3 billion 6 Active travel in England funding active travel infrastructure between 2016 and 2021, but it knows too little about the quality of …
Government Response Summary
The government states ATE has enhanced guidance for local authorities to use a new 'Active Travel Infrastructure Platform' and employed a scheme database with quarterly pulse surveys to strengthen data collection. ATE is also developing a web-based reporting portal and has strengthened grant agreements to mandate data provision from local authorities.
7
Conclusion
Accepted
DfT has not set out how it plans to expand its Bikeability programme and increase the rate of children and adults receiving cycle safety training. Bikeability is an important part of how DfT promotes active travel to children and adults and ensures people have the confidence to cycle safely. DfT …
Government Response Summary
The government states that Active Travel England (ATE) announced a 2-year, £50 million funding package for Bikeability until March 2025, providing funding certainty. ATE has also commissioned a review of the program to improve efficiency and effectiveness of management arrangements.
1
Conclusion
Accepted
On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence from the Department for Transport (DfT) and Active Travel England (ATE) about active travel in England.2
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the committee and states that DfT will review ATE's achievements against targets when its corporate plan expires and consider its resources for future targets. ATE's overall effectiveness as an arm's length body will be reviewed in 2025.
10
Conclusion
Accepted
It is important for DfT to have the right data and information in place to monitor whether its active travel investments are contributing to achieving its objectives. The NAO reported that longer-term progress against achieving DfT’s objectives was uncertain due to a time-lag in availability of DfT’s statistics.17 ATE told …
Government Response Summary
The government agreed, confirming work is underway to increase the National Travel Survey's sample size for better sub-national representation. ATE is developing a revised evaluation approach for local schemes, investigating locally representative datasets, and initiating a five-year Active Travel Portfolio Evaluation to be completed by 2026-27.
14
Conclusion
Accepted
DfT estimates that for every £1 invested in active travel, government will achieve around £4.30 in benefits. We therefore asked DfT about the benefits of active travel. DfT told us that active travel had many different benefits, including for health, air quality, decarbonisation. It explained that most of the benefits …
Government Response Summary
The government accepted the recommendation, noting it has commissioned research to accurately measure funding allocation and impact for active travel interventions from 2016 to 2025. This research, covering various funding streams, is expected to conclude in April 2024.
15
Conclusion
Accepted
Concerns around safety and confidence to cycle are key barriers to active travel. The NAO reported that, in 2021, around half of respondents to a DfT survey stated that safer roads would encourage them to cycle (53%) and walk (45%) more. Data from DfT surveys show that, between 2017 and …
Government Response Summary
The government agrees and states the recommendation is implemented, planning to publish a new road safety strategy focusing on vulnerable road users and explore a broader campaign promoting active travel, in conjunction with local partners. It also highlights previous Highway Code awareness campaigns and ongoing monitoring.
16
Conclusion
Accepted
In January 2022, DfT made changes to the Highway Code to prioritise vulnerable road users, including pedestrians and cyclists.37 However, evidence we received from stakeholders suggested that DfT’s messaging around the changes made to improve safety have not been communicated effectively to the public. Stakeholders told us that a lack …
Government Response Summary
The government agrees and states the recommendation is implemented, intending to publish a new road safety strategy and explore aligning it with a broader active travel promotion campaign, delivered with local partners. They also detail past campaigns on Highway Code changes, noting increased public awareness.
17
Conclusion
Accepted
We asked DfT if there was more that it could do to promote the changes it had made to improve safety and encourage more people take up cycling. It told us that it recognised that communication was a big part of tackling perceptions and encouraging changes in behaviour. It told …
Government Response Summary
The government agreed, stating it intends to publish a new road safety strategy to improve safety for vulnerable road users and will explore aligning it with a broader active travel campaign and partner communications. It also highlighted ongoing Think! campaigns that have raised awareness of Highway Code changes.
19
Conclusion
Accepted
DfT has overall responsibility for active travel policy in England and ATE is now responsible for delivering against DfT’s objectives to increase active travel by 2025. Local authorities are key delivery partners who deliver active travel infrastructure in local areas to support increased uptake of active travel. Other organisations are …
Government Response Summary
The government agreed, outlining new Network North funding for integrated transport solutions. By April 2024, DfT and ATE will agree on how ATE design tools will support active travel and public transport integration, and how the Inspectorate will review these schemes.
20
Conclusion
Accepted
Active travel is one of many options of transport that individuals can choose from to make their journeys. In its 2020 publication Gear Change: a bold vision for cycling and walking, DfT identified that limited integration with other transport and planning policy had contributed to inconsistent provision of active travel …
Government Response Summary
The government agreed, detailing new Network North funding to encourage integrated local transport solutions. By April 2024, DfT and ATE will establish how ATE design tools can best support active travel and public transport integration and how ATE's Inspectorate will review related schemes.
21
Conclusion
Accepted
We asked DfT why there had not been more focus on areas where integration was key to encouraging active travel. DfT told us that it had prioritised activity and investment on the areas where it felt it could have maximum impact on increasing rates of active travel. It explained that …
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the implied recommendation and will encourage local authorities to invest in integrated transport solutions through new funding. By April 2024, DfT and ATE will agree how ATE's design tools and Inspectorate function can best support integration between active travel and public transport.
27
Conclusion
Accepted
The Bikeability Programme plays an important role in providing children and adults with cycle training and skills, helping develop confidence to cycle safely.67 It helps teach practical skills through instructor-led training sessions. The Bikeability Programme is managed and developed by Bikeability Trust, a charitable organisation, on behalf of DfT. The …
Government Response Summary
The government agrees and states the recommendation is implemented, providing a 2-year, £50 million funding package for the Bikeability programme until March 2025. A review has also been commissioned to improve the programme's efficiency and effectiveness.
28
Conclusion
Accepted
In 2020, DfT announced it would expand its Bikeability programme and committed to offering cycling skills to all children in England. However, DfT has not yet completed its plans for expanding the Bikeability Programme and could not tell us when the commitment will be met. In 2022–23, 51% of children …
Government Response Summary
The government agrees and states the recommendation is implemented, providing a 2-year, £50 million funding package for the Bikeability programme until March 2025. A review has also been commissioned to improve the programme's efficiency and effectiveness.
29
Conclusion
Accepted
Written evidence from Bikeability Trust told us that funding for the Bikeability Programme was provided through a multi-year settlement between 2016 and 2020, but since then funding had been provided in single year extensions often confirmed just before the start of the financial year. Bikeability Trust told us that there …
Government Response Summary
The government accepted the recommendation, noting that ATE has already announced a 2-year, £50 million funding package for Bikeability until March 2025, providing funding certainty. ATE has also commissioned a review to improve programme efficiency.
30
Conclusion
Accepted
We asked DfT for the details about its plans to fund the Bikeability Programme for 2023–24. It told us that it had been increasing the amount of funding available for the Programme over the last decade, and would do the same again this year, but recognised that the funding would …
Government Response Summary
The government has agreed and implemented the recommendation by announcing a 2-year, £50 million funding package for the Bikeability programme until March 2025. A review has also been commissioned to enhance the programme's efficiency and effectiveness.
31
Conclusion
Accepted
Bikeability Trust uses trainers to deliver cycle training. ATE and the Bikeability Trust, in their written submission to us, told us that often, local authorities do not directly employ these trainers and there can be complicated arrangements and criteria for becoming a trainer and delivering Bikeability training. In its written …
Government Response Summary
The government has agreed and implemented the recommendation, providing a 2-year, £50 million funding package for Bikeability until March 2025. Additionally, ATE has commissioned a review to increase the programme's efficiency and effectiveness, focusing on management arrangements and delivery systems.