Over the last five years, the Government has awarded Sustrans £77 million in grant funding to improve the safety and accessibility of the National Cycle Network (NCN). As custodians of the Network, Sustrans works with local authorities and other partners such as the Canal and River Trust to identify priorities for investment in the NCN, and channels funding to partners to deliver these upgrades. The table below lists the 10 local authority areas which have received, or are forecast to receive, the greatest level of investment in NCN routes from the overall £77 million.

Over and above the funding provided to Sustrans, the Government has also provided local authorities with significant amounts of capital funding to support active travel. It is for authorities to determine how best to use this in their areas, including whether or not to spend any of it to improve routes which include stretches of the NCN, and the Department does not therefore hold an aggregate figure for total spend on the NCN over this period.

National Highways is committed to supporting active travel and making the Strategic Road Network (SRN), comprising our motorways and principal A-Roads, accessible and safer for cyclists, by delivering 200 new cycling facilities and improved crossing points between 2016 and 2021. A total number of 160 cycling schemes and 438 new or upgraded crossings for cyclists, pedestrians and/or horse-riders (211 new and 227 upgraded) have been delivered up to March 2020.

Whilst not targeted in the second Road Investment Strategy (RIS2) (2020 to 2025), National Highways is committed to improving the SRN’s impact on cyclists, walkers and other vulnerable users. Designated Funds form a part of National Highways’ contribution to this, through the Walkers Cyclists and Horse riders’ theme within its User and Community fund.

Through Designated Funds, National Highways is providing new infrastructure for road users, and enhancing existing facilities, through targeted local investment. National Highways has invested £45.3 million since April 2020 and has a further £24 million of approved projects for delivery.

Local highways authorities are responsible for constructing cycle lanes in their areas. On 7 February 2020, the Department published a detailed breakdown of annual investment in cycling and walking from 2016/17 to 2018/19 alongside the first report on progress made towards delivering the Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy (CWIS). This includes information on how much funding each local authority received over that period for active travel schemes including cycle lanes. The Department aims to publish shortly an update including a breakdown of annual investment in 2019/20 and 2020/21. Copies of the previous report to Parliament and funding breakdowns by local authority covering the years up to 2018/19 are available in the House libraries as well as on gov.uk.

Some of the information, such as a breakdown of how much capital funding was provided to each local authority for active travel schemes in 2020/21 under the Active Travel Fund, is already available on gov.uk.

The next Cycling and Walking report to Parliament, due to be published in spring 2022, will contain details of all of the funding that the Government has provided for active travel schemes, including cycle lanes, to each local authority in each year. This is complex as the funding comes from several different funding streams, making a short summary difficult. Some of the information, such as a breakdown of how much capital funding was provided to each local authority for active travel schemes in 2020/21 under the Active Travel Fund, is already available on gov.uk. Copies of the previous report to Parliament and funding breakdowns by local authority covering the years up to 2018/19 are available in the House libraries as well as on gov.uk.