Ken Skates MS, Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales
Today I am publishing a report on the statutory review of the Active Travel (Wales) Act 2013.
This report follows and draws on a great deal of work that has been undertaken in the past four years to explore the extent to which the ambitions of this Act, one of the first pieces of primary legislation made by the Senedd, have been achieved.
This includes the in-depth work undertaken by the Senedd’s Cross-Party Group for the purposes of its own review of the Act, the Active Travel Board’s scrutiny, the extensive 18 months investigation by Archwilio Cymru (Audit Wales) and the Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee’s year-long inquiry into active travel in Wales, with its report published on 18 December 2025.
Collectively, these reviews have produced a wealth of insights and recommendations. The Welsh Government has responded positively to these findings, incorporating many of the recommendations directly into our Active Travel Delivery Plan and making significant improvements to policy, delivery and guidance as a result.
The statutory review highlights clear evidence of progress. The continued growth in the total length of active travel routes across Wales demonstrates the Act’s intended principle of continuous improvement. Local authorities have made major strides in the quality and accessibility of the information they provide, with many now offering comprehensive, user‑friendly online resources that support people to walk, wheel and cycle safely and confidently.
The review concludes that the Act’s mapping provisions have been one of its strongest successes. These duties have resulted in comprehensive Active Travel Network Maps across Wales, created through significant public engagement and now forming the statutory basis for planning, forward investment and continuous improvement of routes.
The establishment of the Active Travel Fund since 2018 has further supported delivery under the Act, with annual reports evidencing continuous improvements in routes and facilities. The review found that the duty to promote active travel has driven widespread local authority activity, with almost all authorities operating dedicated active travel websites and delivering schemes and facilities that align with the Act’s aims, supported by central resources like the promotional toolkit.
Work to strengthen active travel design standards has also significantly enhanced the consideration of safety for all forms of active travel. This has helped to shape more consistent, higher‑quality routes, ensuring that infrastructure is safer, more inclusive and aligned with international best practice.
Key challenges highlighted in the review, as in previous reports, relate to the Act’s requirements for monitoring and reporting. Whilst monitoring duties are being met by Welsh Ministers, wider data gaps have limited our ability to go beyond the explicit reporting requirements and evaluate the extent of behaviour change that has taken place.
The review concludes that whilst there are areas to strengthen, there does not appear to be a case for legislative reform to address these. Instead, ongoing improvements to delivery and governance will continue to enhance implementation. From 2026–27, the transition to a unified Regional Transport Fund will create new opportunities for better integration across modes, longer‑term planning and more effective cross‑boundary working. We will soon receive the first set of data from the new Wales National Travel Survey, which will finally provide a firm basis for monitoring and target setting, addressing these critical data gaps.