Written question WQ95043

Schemes receiving Welsh Government funding need to provide evidence that they have involved relevant stakeholders in the development of their schemes. The application guidance for the Active Travel Fund makes it clear that engagement with users and groups with protected characteristics mut be included in the development of projects. Active Travel Fund Guidance 2025-26.

To ensure duties undertaken in line with the Active Travel Act comply with those of the Equality Act (2010), Equality Impact Assessments (EQIAs) must be carried out on all schemes funded through the Active Travel Fund and the Safe Routes in Communities Grant. Any predicted negative equalities impacts should be mitigated. Under the Equality Act (2010), public sector authorities also have a duty to make reasonable adjustments to the built environment to ensure the design of new infrastructure is accessible to all. The requirement for inclusive design applies to both pedestrians and cyclists.

There is a mandatory requirement in the Active Travel Fund 2025-26 guidance and the Safe Routes in Communities programme guidance for EQIAs to be supplied as part of the application process. If suitable assessments are not supplied then the applications won’t be considered for funding. Mandatory requirements are also in place for monitoring and evaluation of schemes as well as engagement plans and scheme specific engagement, and appraisers will be able to automatically discount schemes from consideration if sufficient evidence is not provided, including engagement with groups with protected characteristics.

TfW have also undertaken a pilot project to review a sample of Active Travel Fund projects with the aim of identifying any common access and inclusion issues that can be shared with local authorities to inform scheme designs. The high level outputs from that project have been shared with local authorities, highlighting key themes arising for different types of infrastructure and how they impact on groups with protected characteristics. Further work on lessons learnt will inform future approaches. Scheme specific feedback was also provided to those local authorities who submitted schemes for review, so they could take account of it in developing their proposals.

Our Active Travel Act Guidance already aims to deliver inclusive and accessible design and sets out the requirement for engagement and consideration of people with protected characteristics. The TfW design team is starting work to review the Active Travel Act Guidance and update it, with an even stronger emphasis on inclusive design, to ensure the guidance continues to reflect current best practice, legislation and the latest technology. We will ensure practitioners and leaders are kept abreast of the changes and the dissemination of this forms part of the scope of our training programme “Academi Teithio Llesol”. As part of their remit, the Hub team will facilitate sharing of innovation and best practice across all local authorities and delivery partners to improve the function, safety, accessibility, quality, and value of all interventions.

As part of the Academi programme, TfW are holding a training day this month (November 2024) for local authority officers with specific workshops on design (highlighting inclusive design) and engagement (including engaging those with or groups representing users with protected characteristics. At the event the RNIB are delivering a presentation to the LA officers and offering a virtual reality experience to aid their understanding of the challenges faced by people with visual impairments.

The inclusive Active Travel sub-group of the Active Travel Board resumed its work and met in its new form for the first time on the 12th November 2024. The group includes a range of stakeholders who represent people with vision impairment, including RNIB Cymru, Guide Dogs and Torfaen Access Forum The group will continue to assist the Board in supporting the effective implementation of the Active Travel (Wales) Act (2013), the Wales Transport Strategy (2021) and ensuring the requirements of the Equality Act (2010) are met.