Minister of State DfT (): The Department for
Transport is today (21 July 2022) publishing the framework document for
Active Travel England. This confirms Active Travel England’s
responsibilities and objectives and sets out its relationship
with, and accountability to, the Department for Transport and
Parliament.
Active Travel England will lead the delivery of the government’s
strategy and vision for creating a new golden age of walking and
cycling where half of all journeys in towns and cities are walked
and cycled by 2030.
Active Travel England will hold the active travel budget in
England, including for new infrastructure and behaviour change
initiatives such as cycle training.
It will assess all applications for active travel capital and
revenue funding, including from wider funds such as the City Region Sustainable
Transport Settlements, the Levelling Up Fund and
the Road Investment Strategy
2(RIS2) and
award funding to schemes only if they meet the standards and
principles set out in Local Transport Note
1/20, or any later national design standards. It will also
inspect new active travel infrastructure to ensure schemes meet
these new standards and principles and ask for funds to be
returned for any which have not been completed as promised, or
not started or finished within the agreed timeframe.
Active Travel England will work with local authorities developing
new schemes and support their capacity by delivering training and
disseminating best practice.
ATE will also begin to
inspect and publish reports on highway authorities for their
performance on active travel and identify particularly dangerous
failings in their highways for cyclists and pedestrians. In these
regards, the commissioner and inspectorate will perform a similar
role to Ofsted from the 1990s onwards in raising standards and
challenging failure.
It will also act as a statutory consultee in the planning system
and review active travel provision in major planning
applications.
Ministers at the Department for Transport will have
responsibility for Active Travel England. As an executive agency,
Active Travel England will have a degree of operational
independence in delivering its duties. It will be led by its
chief executive officer who will be the agency’s accounting
officer and report to Parliament as needed. Active Travel England
will also have its own board which will be chaired by the
National Active Travel Commissioner.
The framework document will come into effect when Active Travel
England is formally established as an executive agency later this
year and will be reviewed next year. I am placing a copy of
Active Travel England’s framework document in the libraries of
both Houses.
The standing up of Active Travel England is gathering pace.
Today’s publication of its framework document follows last
month’s announcement of senior appointments to
Active Travel England. This included confirming Chris
Boardman as England’s National Active Travel Commission on a
permanent basis and the appointment of Danny Williams as Active
Travel England’s Chief Executive.
