February update

February has rolled around very quickly this year, and there’s already been lots happening! 

We have seen an increase in the number of riders coming through the digi route, so thank you to everyone who is using digitisation already. Remember, the deadline to start using digitisation is the end of March.  

If you need any help getting started, go to our resources page here for more information. We are also running a webinar aimed at training providers later this month, which you can sign up for here. 

Spending review

As you will be aware, I have been working on submitting our evidence to the spending review. The government will be using this review to set their budgets for future years, so it’s an important piece of work and vital that we advocate for our industry and active travel. 

Our submission has now gone to Active Travel England, with input from the Trust team and industry. It is also supported by a You Gov poll we commissioned, and evidence from our monitoring and evaluation work. This demonstrates why we need your input and data – to evidence the benefit of Bikeability training and how many children are able to access cycling. Having access to this data is another reason why digitisation is so important and we need all of industry on board with it. 

I would like to sound a note of caution at this point, however, as I believe that while we have a good case, our ambitions need to be modest. It’s no secret that government finances are stretched, and while they are positive about active travel, there are tough decisions to be made. 

Grant funding underspend

We have written to all grant recipients asking them to surrender any 24/25 funding that they will not use this financial year. This has increased our underspend significantly.  

Unfortunately this weakens our position when it comes to asking for more funding in future. We would therefore like to remind you to plan and use your grant funding effectively or we risk losing funding increases for Bikeability training. Can you speak to us as early as possible if you believe that you will not spend all your funding so that we can reallocate or alert ATE as early as possible that we will not need our full allocation. 

Minister visit from Simon Lightwood

Simon Lightwood MP, The Parliamentary Under-Secretary for the Department of Transport joined us at Gusford School in Ipswich for some Bikeability training. We were also joined by the local MP Jack Abbott MP, the ward councillor and representatives from Suffolk County Council. Simon is really supportive of our work and had a fantastic visit, including getting some great advice from the children on the Bikeability course. 

He asked one girl what she’d be learning, and she so clearly explained what they had been doing that I offered her a job as an instructor on the spot – once she turns 16 of course! And when the Minister tried it himself, the whole group gave him some great pointers on what he could improve on next time! 

The visit showed just how valuable Bikeability training is and demonstrated how well it works at teaching children how to cycle confidently and safely. Active Travel England made a short film about the visit, which you can watch below: 

Local Transport Minister @simonlightwood visited Gusford school in Ipswich last week to see first hand how @BikeabilityUK sessions are helping the next generation to cycle safely in our towns and cities 🚲 pic.twitter.com/d7nlNFPcuy

— Active Travel England (@activetraveleng) January 21, 2025

Thank you to the fantastic team at Suffolk County Council and Gusford School for enabling a great visit that shows exactly what the impact of Bikeability can be.