Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what funding they plan to make available to promote walking to school initiatives when the Local Sustainable Transport Fund comes to an end in March 2016.

The Department for Transport has a statutory obligation to deliver the Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy (CWIS) which is anticipated to include a National Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan. The Department has commenced the early stages of work to develop the first CWIS by summer 2016 following a formal consultation in spring 2016. Detailed content of this Strategy is not yet available, and we are therefore unable to confirm our future plans for promoting walking to school initiatives at this stage.

That said, the Government recently reaffirmed its commitment to cycling and walking by investing over £300m over the life of this Parliament. This includes delivering the Cycle City Ambition programme in full, and funding the Bikeability cycle training programme for school children. It also includes a new ‘Access’ fund for sustainable travel building on the legacy of the Local Sustainable Transport Fund. It is too early to say what the details of this new Access fund will be as discussions are ongoing, but information is expected to be available in the coming weeks.

It is also worth noting that this Government remains committed to the principles of localism; it is therefore the responsibility of local authorities to decide their local priorities in relation to ‘walk to school’ initiatives, and attribute government resources, such as the local transport block, accordingly.