The Department for Infrastructure has reversed its decision to withdraw funding for the Active School Travel programme, the only initiative currently addressing car dominance and encouraging active travel on the school run in Northern Ireland.
Pupils and staff from Tobermore Primary School are pictured with representatives of the Active School Travel programme funders, the Public Health Agency and the Department for Infrastructure, alongside colleagues from Sustrans in Northern Ireland.
The Active School Travel (AST) Programme, jointly funded by the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) and the Public Health Agency (PHA), encourages children to walk, scoot or cycle.
Sustrans has delivered the programme to more than 460 schools across Northern Ireland over the past decade, improving road safety and congestion at the school gates.
Following a campaign, DfI reconsidered its decision and confirmed that it will continue to fund the programme, albeit with a smaller contribution.
Public Health Agency has agreed to provide an increased amount to ensure the programme continues in Northern Ireland.
More than 500 responses from parents and schools
The DfI decision is part of a slew of cuts due to budgetary pressures on Stormont this year.
However, Sustrans and our supporters in Cycling UK Northern Ireland made the case that cutting the AST programme will contribute a mere 0.2% of the savings the Department needs to make.
A campaign calling for the decision to be reversed was mounted by the two charities at the end of May, focusing on the statutory requirement for an Equality Impact Assessment (EQIA) to be carried out.
This campaign alone led to more than 500 responses to the Department, from schools and parents across NI who protested that this decision discriminates against children and people with dependants, and praised the programme’s wide-ranging benefits.
Caroline Bloomfield, Sustrans Northern Ireland Director said: “With stringent budget cuts across government and acutely so for Infrastructure, we did not expect to receive the full funding and proposed cost-saving measures for a reduced programme for 2023/24.
“We are grateful for all those who responded to the campaign and especially the support from Cycling UK and the All-Party Group on Cycling to see this decision reversed.
“We are delighted to continue one of our most successful programmes and that we will be able to recruit new schools into the programme from the autumn.
“The Active School Travel programme is helping to change travel habits, encouraging children and their parents to walk, scoot or cycle to school which has profound implications for their health, the environment and safety around the school-gates. We are grateful to have your continued support.”
Impact on children
In our response to DfI’s consultation we noted, among many points, that the high number of pupils driven to school - despite as many as 50% living within one mile – indicates a lack of other options, the government should be supporting schemes that reduce car dependency and encourage modal shift for families with dependants by encouraging children to learn to walk and cycle short journeys.
The programme has achieved positive results every year since it began in 2013 in the schools where Sustrans works.
In the 2021-22 school year, the number of children travelling actively to school at participating schools increased from 30% to 41%, whilst at the same time, the number of pupils being driven to school fell from 62% to 51%.
Success of AST programme
Sustrans’ survey also shows around four out of every five children would like to make that journey by walking, wheeling, scooting or cycling.
The success of the AST programme is in stark contrast to the overall figures from DfI which shows that two-thirds (65%) of primary pupils across Northern Ireland are driven to school despite many (50%) living within a mile radius.
Sustrans has repeatedly argued that the continuing overall rise in car travel to school highlights the urgent need to invest in active school travel, not to withdraw investment, and indeed the charity has been calling for an infrastructure arm creating safer routes to school to complement the programme.
Apply to join the programme for the school year 2023/24 at: schoolsNI@sustrans.org.uk
