The Government remains fully committed to the vision that by 2030 half of all journeys in towns and cities are walked or cycled and it will invest over £3 billion in active travel over the course of this Parliament. The £3 billion also includes funding from wider sources such as the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements and the Levelling Up Fund. Active Travel England estimates that its dedicated investment programme between 2022/23 and 2024/25 will deliver 90 million additional walking and cycling stages by 2025.

This Government has done more than any other to support walking and cycling and over the course of this Parliament it will be investing around £3 billion in active travel from a wide range of funding streams.

The Government’s Carbon Budget Delivery Plan sets out the projected emission savings from transport policies. The Department will continue to monitor the contributions made by its investment in active travel. As captured in the Carbon Budget Delivery Plan, the carbon savings from active travel make up a relatively small percentage of the total projected carbon savings. The impact of recent active travel funding changes on the ability of the Government to meet its overall emission targets is therefore likely to be small.

The Department has commissioned several feasibility studies through its mini-Holland pilot programme. The studies considered a broad range of approaches to improve safety and accessibility of local high streets and surrounding areas to enable higher levels of walking, wheeling and cycling, including area-wide traffic management approaches such as low traffic neighbourhoods. Three mini-Hollands schemes were funded as part of Active Travel Fund 4 following assessment of study material.

Responsibility for traffic management on local roads rests with the relevant local authority as they are best placed to consider how local needs can be effectively met. It is entirely a matter for individual authorities to decide on the nature and scope of policies. The Government has been clear that traffic management schemes should always be developed through consultation and engagement with local communities.

The Government has announced its strategy for investing in active travel and has no plans to change that approach.

The Government is supporting the intermediary sector to expand to meet predicted demand at the end of the transition period making available over £80 million of support for IT, training and recruitment, through the Customs Grant Scheme. This supports businesses established anywhere in the UK, including those that serve Portsmouth International Port.

The sector is scaling up and recently commissioned Ipsos MORI research shows that the sector expects to be able to complete 76-119 million additional declarations by the end of the transition period.

The Government continues to monitor progress carefully, keeping all support mechanisms under review.

The following table shows the amount of funding allocated to the promotion of cycling in Portsmouth.

Transport in London is devolved to the Mayor of London and delivered by Transport for London. Cycling in London is the combined responsibility of the Mayor of London and the London Boroughs; the Department for Transport does not directly fund cycling schemes in London.

^[2] DEFRA awarded Air Quality Grant to Portsmouth City Council, £450,000 for a communications package and cycling infrastructure.

It is for local authorities to identify and prioritise investment for cycling and walking schemes from local funds and relevant national funding streams. Funding opportunities are available through a range of place based funds, including the Transforming Cities Fund, Future High Streets Fund, Housing Infrastructure Fund and the Clean Air Fund.

The Department is currently funding a £2 million programme of support to assist 46 local authorities with the preparation of their Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plans (LCWIPs).

LCWIPs are used to identify and prioritise investment for cycling and walking schemes from local funds and relevant national funding streams, such as the Transforming Cities Fund, Future High Streets Fund, Housing Infrastructure Fund and the Clean Air Fund.

Decisions on future funding for cycling and walking will be made in the context of the forthcoming Spending Review.

The Department is currently providing technical and strategic support to local authorities to enable them to develop Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plans (LCWIPs). These plans will help identify and prioritise potential infrastructure improvements. The Department will consider options for supporting infrastructure improvements identified through the LCWIP process as and when future funding opportunities arise.