The Government collects data on the number of second homes in England. The latest data can be found here. National planning policy sets out that planning policies and decisions should consider the need for safe and accessible green infrastructure and open space, and local planning authorities should pursue opportunities for securing measurable net gain for biodiversity, including on brownfield sites. National planning requires local plans to provide for attractive and well-designed walking and cycling networks with supporting facilities such as secure cycle parking. Plans should also protect and enhance public rights of way and access. National Planning Policy already states that local planning authorities should pursue opportunities for securing measurable net gain for biodiversity.

Regarding York, the York local plan remains at examination. The Inspectors have yet to conclude the examination but it is important that the Independent Inspectors are given the opportunity to complete their final report.

The Government is working to release public land for new housing.

Communities must be at the heart of the planning process. The Government’s reforms, detailed in a recent WMS, will increase and enhance opportunities for involvement, so it is simpler, faster and easier for communities to engage with local plans.

We intend to consult shortly on an increase to planning fees that will help provide additional resources to further support the delivery and improvement of planning services.

The second statutory Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy, published in July of this year, reiterated the Government’s commitment to this important agenda and set out the funding that was projected to be spent on it from 2020/21 to 2024/25 from a wide range of funding streams.

The Autumn Statement of 17 November confirmed the Department for Transport’s overall funding levels for 2023-24 and 2024-25. The Department is currently considering the budget for active travel as part of its examination of all future spending plans following that Statement.

The Department plans to launch Active Travel Fund 4 once future budgets are confirmed through the Departmental business planning process.

The Department’s ministers and officials have regular discussions with their counterparts in His Majesty’s Treasury (HMT) on active travel funding and other matters.

The Department spent approximately £300m of dedicated active travel funding in 2021-22, with the bulk of this going to local authorities.

The Government’s ambitions for walking and cycling up to 2024/5 are outlined in the second statutory Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy (CWIS2) which was published in July 2022. The Strategy complements the Government’s Gear Change plan, which was published in July 2020.

The Department plans to launch Active Travel Fund 4 once future budgets are confirmed through the Departmental business planning process, following the Autumn Statement of 17 November.

The total projected spend on active travel from multiple cross-Government funding streams between 2021-22 and 2024-25 is outlined in the Second Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy (CWIS2), published on 6 July 2022. This estimate is due to updated in the next CWIS Report to Parliament, expected to be published in 2024.

The period 2020-21 was part of the CWIS1 funding period which covered the period between 2016-17 and 2020-21. The total estimated investment in active travel during this period was over £3bn, as outlined in the Second CWIS Report to Parliament which was also published on 6 July 2022.

Walking and cycling are among the cheapest and healthiest ways to get around and that’s why this government has made record amounts of funding available since the start of the pandemic for schemes to help more people to do so.

The department is continuing to examine future spending plans following the Autumn Statement.

The Government agrees that walking and cycling are an inexpensive and healthy way of getting around and an excellent way of helping people save money on their everyday travel costs, which is why we have already invested £600 million since the start of the pandemic in enabling more people to make these choices for their local journeys.

The Department’s Ministers and officials have regular discussions with their counterparts in His Majesty’s Treasury on active travel programmes in England. Recent discussions have included the development of the second Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy (CWIS2) and Active Travel England’s delivery programme.

In July 2022, the Government published the second statutory Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy (CWIS2), reaffirming its commitment to active travel and setting out the objectives and the financial resources in place to achieve these for the period 2021 to 2025.

In August 2022, the Department formally established Active Travel England as an Executive Agency. Active Travel England is already overseeing the delivery of £200 million of active travel schemes this financial year, and is rapidly recruiting its core staff, as well as putting in place its formal governance structures.

In July 2022, the Government published the second statutory Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy (CWIS2), reaffirming its commitment to active travel and setting out the objectives and the financial resources in place to achieve these for the period 2021 to 2025.

In August 2022, the Department formally established Active Travel England as an Executive Agency. Active Travel England is already overseeing the delivery of £200 million of active travel schemes this financial year, and is due shortly to make an announcement on future active travel funding for local authorities. It is rapidly recruiting its core staff, as well as putting in place its formal governance structures.

Other recent steps include the announcement in August 2022 of a number of social prescribing pilot schemes in eleven local authority areas. These will help join up the active travel and health agendas.

The Government will continue its support for active travel and has already invested unprecedented sums in enabling more walking and cycling since the start of the pandemic in 2020.

The Department has continued to prioritise its work on active travel, and the last two months have seen significant amounts of recruitment into key Active Travel England (ATE) roles, as well as a process to select ATE’s non-executive directors. ATE also announced in October that it had established a new advisory panel consisting of Chief Medical Officer Sir Christopher Whitty; Mayor of the West Midlands Andy Street; Chair of the Office for Rail and Road Declan Collier; and Arup's Global Transport Lead Isabel Dedring. ATE has also continued to work behind the scenes with local authorities to review their active travel plans and help maximise their chances of securing funding for active travel schemes.

We look carefully at long-term travel statistics when planning future transport needs. Whilst it is important to examine the period of the pandemic when doing so, it is also important to bear in mind that, for most people, travel then was very different to that in normal times.

The Government continues to support active travel and has invested unprecedented sums in walking and cycling since the start of the pandemic. In London, this is a matter for the Mayor, and the Department’s recent funding settlement with Transport for London will enable it to continue to invest in improving London's streets by investing over £80 million per year in schemes to enable more walking and cycling.

We provide significant support to upper-tier councils to make it easier and safer for people to choose to walk or cycle. In the last year, we’ve given Staffordshire County Council over £595,000 in funding for active travel – it is a matter for them how that is then allocated within the county.

Active travel will remain one of the Department’s policy priorities. Enabling more people to make their everyday journeys on foot or by cycle can boost local economies as well as delivering significant health and environmental benefits. It can also help people to reduce their travel costs.