AQW 41290/22-27

Mr Daniel McCrossan
Social Democratic and Labour Party
West Tyrone

Tabled Date: 24/02/2026
Answered On Date: 12/03/2026
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister for Infrastructure (i) for an update on her Department's consideration of the NI Audit Office report, Active Travel in Northern Ireland; and (ii) to detail the timetable for responding to the recommendations.

Answer:

Section 22 of the Climate Change Act (Northern Ireland) 2022 places a statutory requirement on my Department to set a minimum level of spend on active travel of 10% of overall transport budgets. While the Act does not define “overall transport budgets” or “active travel spend”, active travel is generally understood to include walking, wheeling and cycling. Prior to the Act, reported active travel expenditure was largely focused on capital investment in new schemes and on road safety education programmes delivered in schools.

In order to transparently demonstrate progress towards meeting the statutory target, my Department undertook, for the first time, a comprehensive assessment of overall spend on active travel. This work concluded in June 2025 and reflects my Department’s interpretation of Section 22 of the Act. It recognises the wide range of activities that contribute to maintaining safe, accessible and wellfunctioning footways and cycleways, while also highlighting the importance of continued and increased investment in new active travel infrastructure. In that context, I have increased funding for new active travel projects from between £10m and £12m per year in recent years to £18m in 2025/26.

Details of overall active travel expenditure are now published on my Department’s website and will be updated annually to ensure transparency and allow progress against the statutory target to be tracked over time.https://www.infrastructure-ni.gov.uk/topics/departmental-spend-active-travel

Engagement with stakeholders on transport funding, including active travel, is undertaken primarily through the public consultation on the Equality Impact Assessment (EQIA) of draft budgets, which my Department carries out annually. This process provides stakeholders with the opportunity to comment on budget proposals, including active travel allocations, and to highlight how funding decisions may impact on equality outcomes.

I welcome the publication of the Northern Ireland Audit Office report, Active Travel in Northern Ireland. My Department has carefully considered the findings of the report and has accepted all of the recommendations contained within it. The Northern Ireland Audit Office was formally notified of this on 27 November 2025. A detailed response to each recommendation, including target implementation dates during 2026/27, has been deposited in the Assembly Library.