National Highways' spending plans cast doubt on a transport minister’s claim that it is ‘due to’ spend £105m on cycling, walking and horse-riding this road investment period, Highways can reveal.
The government-owned company has confirmed that there is no set level of investment for the cycling, walking and horse-riding ‘theme’ – one of six themes in the Users and Communities designated fund – and the total projected spend is just £86m.
It made clear that the £105m relates to the level of funding approved for the cycling theme, though this is not considered an official budget and does not appear in any official document.
A spokesperson added that levels of investment are determined by scheme delivery prioritisation and inflation and ‘there is opportunity for further investment’.
This means there is still potential to spend the remaining £19m of the £105m approved funding for 2020-2025 but National Highways conceded there are currently no committed plans in place.
The Office of Rail and Road previously warned of a significant risk that the company would fail to deliver its RIS 2 designated funds programme, worth £936m, having fallen behind during the first three years.
The assertion that all £105m 'was due' to be spent was made in May by transport minister Jesse Norman in response to a written parliamentary question.
Labour MP Ruth Cadbury, a member of the Transport Select Committee, asked what estimate ministers had made of the cost to the public purse of National Highways delivering the Government's policy on cycling and walking.
Mr Norman replied that designated funds are ‘one of the key funding vehicles for active travel investment’, adding that National Highways is due to ‘invest’ £105m in walking and cycling schemes during this five-year RIS2 period.
He added that other National Highways programmes will deliver active travel policies but it is not possible to disaggregate the active travel components of these.
National Highways quoted the same figure last week in response to a newspaper story concerning the quality of the cycling infrastructure it is installing, although it also included horse-riding schemes in the spending.
Cycling UK policy director policy director Roger Geffen MBE told Highways: ‘Cycling UK fully supports the aims of National Highways’ Designated Funds, particularly the Users and Communities Fund.
‘However it is frustrating that National Highways struggles to provide us with clear information about how much money is being spent on what schemes, let alone what benefits this funding has delivered.
‘This reflects the concerns recently expressed by the National Audit Office about the lack of evidence on how Government funding for active travel is being spent, and whether it is being spent cost-effectively.’
The government-owned company said £51m of the cycling, walking and horse-riding money has been spent in the first three years of RIS 2, with £35m of approved investment currently projected for spend in the remaining two years.
Overall, the Users and Communities Fund is worth £169 during RIS 2. According to the ORR, National Highways spent £86.6m from this fund during the first three years.
In its most recent Annual Assessment, the ORR noted that National Highways had a remaining budget of £524m from the whole Designated Funds programme and had approved £287m of spending in 2022-23 for schemes to be delivered in the last two years.
It ORR described the remaining £524m as ‘a significant risk’, as it requires National Highways to spend more in the final two years than in the first three.
It added: ‘The final budget for designated funds is also subject to significant financial uncertainty for National Highways caused by external pressures, such as high inflation.’
During RIS 1 (2015-20), National Highways (Highways England as was) only spent £38.7m of its designated fund for air quality against a defined ‘budget’ of £75m.
The ORR said the underspend reflected ‘that Highways England was unable to identify effective solutions on which to spend the funds during RP1, despite putting in significant effort’.
Mr Geffen added: ‘With preparations for a third Roads Investment Strategy now fully underway, National Highways really needs to commit to better monitoring of its Designated Funds programme and its work on active travel more generally.
‘We need far better information on whether this money is achieving the aims for which it was allocated: increasing walking and cycling for journeys along and across the corridors of the strategic road network, and improving the safety of those journeys.’
