Active Travel Capability Ratings 2024
Headlines
There are now no Level 0 authorities, as the four councils previously rated 0 have improved to Level 1. These are Leicestershire, Rutland, West Sussex and Worcestershire.
Three councils moved up from Level 1 to Level 2 – Blackburn, Cheshire West and Chester, and Kent.
One authority moved from Level 2 to Level 3 – Cambs and Peterborough Combined Authority.
Only one council was relegated a level. That was Nottinghamshire, which dropped from Level 2 to Level 1.
How the Ratings are Calculated
The capability ratings are an assessment of councils’ ability to plan, design and deliver active travel schemes. Their purpose is to ensure that public money delivers optimal benefits.
Ratings focus primarily on three areas:
- local leadership
- network planning
- delivery
Local authorities were invited to carry out a self-assessment towards the end of 2023. The responses and supporting evidence were then moderated by Active Travel England to reach the final rating.
The self-assessment had five sections:
- information on staffing and resource levels
- commitment of council leaders to active travel
- network planning capability
- ability to deliver projects on time and to budget
- overall capability assessment
How Ratings are Linked to Funding
The ratings are used to calculate funding allocations for 2024/25.
This includes Capability Fund allocations, and the initial allocation of dedicated active travel funding.
‘Higher rated authorities are eligible to access more funding, ensuring that investment is appropriate to the level of capability’.
Danny Williams’ Comments
Chief Executive of Active Travel England Danny Williams said:
‘The capability ratings are about shining a light on our delivery partners and about helping those local authorities that want to deliver safe, high-quality walking, wheeling and cycling interventions to do so, in a way that brings their communities with them’.
Williams says that Active Travel England delivered dedicated support to the lowest-rated authorities to upskill officers and implement action plans. This helped the four zero-rated councils move up to Level 1.
West Sussex
West Sussex was one of the zero-rated councils in 2023.
West Sussex council officers agreed an action plan with Active Travel England, which included training on design best practice.
Key to improvement was the personal involvement of Cabinet Member for Transport Joy Dennis, who took personal ownership of a School Streets programme.
West Sussex made enough progress to move up to Level 1.
North Yorkshire Council and City of York
Both North Yorkshire and York have remained at Level 1.
In reality, North Yorkshire Council has little local leadership and no record of delivery. This meets the description of Level 0.