Archived decisions

Contact: Terry Rath, Education Officer

[email protected]

Tel: 01962 846457

1 Summary

1.1 This report sets out the support provided by the County Council to assist schools in producing travel plans and its investment in safer routes to schools. At its meeting on 29 October 2003 the Environment Policy Review Committee nominated three of its members to meet with representatives of the Education Policy Review Committee to discuss the promotion of safer and sustainable travel to existing and new schools. The report also updates members on the latest national announcements to support school travel planning.

2 School Travel Plans and Safer Routes to School

2.1 Over the last few years schools have been encouraged to work with school travel plan advisers to produce a school travel plan. Taking this approach can lead to many benefits for schools, their pupils and neighbouring communities. By analysing the way children travel to school opportunities can be identified to encourage more children to walk, cycle or travel by public transport. This has positive benefits for their health and fitness and can help to reduce congestion around school entrances with associated safety and environmental benefits. Pupils are encouraged to be closely involved, carrying out their own surveys and to engage local residents in the work. In school such activities can be, for example, linked to the geography, PSHE or citizenship curriculums. The Healthy Schools Award can also recognise the work done by schools to encourage their pupils to walk or cycle to school.

2.2 There is currently one officer, located in the Transport Policy Group of the Environment Department, who works on supporting the development of school travel plans. This post is funded from external grant. The Co-ordinator is supported by a part-time graduate on a training placement and also works closely with a dedicated safer routes to school engineer. Other officers within the Environment Group also work on school travel issues, including those from road safety and the area teams within Transport Policy.

2.3 62 schools have developed school travel plans which have been adopted by the school community and endorsed by the School Travel Plan Co-ordinator. These schools review progress and submit annual reports to the Environment Department. A further 13 schools have developed draft school travel plans which are being considered for adoption. In addition, 26 schools are working towards travel plans. A target of 150 travel plans has been set for 2005/6 which officers in the Environment Department are confident of achieving. This represents 28% of all Hampshire schools. However, there are indications from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, Department of Transport and the Audit Commission that high performing authorities will be expected to have school travel plans for 60% of schools by March 2006.

2.4 It is the County Council's policy to direct Local Transport Plan supported capital investment to improve routes to school where approved travel plans have been produced in liaison with the School Travel Plan Co-ordinator. New schools or schools receiving major capital building works are expected to produce travel plans. In 2002/03 the County Council invested £730,000 in safer routes to school schemes. This was supplemented by an investment of £250,000 by Basingstoke & Deane Borough Council. Some 23 capital schemes were implemented in 2002/03 with a further 58 schemes planned for 2003/04 and 2005/06. Overall the Environment Department expects to spend some 5% of its total capital programme on school travel. At its meeting on 29 October 2003 the Environment PRC agreed to advise the Executive Member for Environment that the proportion of funds devoted to school travel be revisited when the 2004/05 capital programme is agreed.

3 National Developments

3.1 In September the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) and the Department for Transport (DfT) jointly issued a short booklet entitled "Travelling to School : An Action Plan". In it the departments emphasised the importance of school travel policy and announced some measures to promote and develop schools planning. These include:

- promoting minimum standards for the school travel plans. It is expected that these will be published later this year and are expected to be consistent with the County Council's existing approach.

- Announcing a £50million capital fund to provide additional capital grant for schools to spend on measures identified in their travel plans. Broadly £5,000 will be provided to primary schools and £10,000 to secondary schools completing their travel plans over the next two years after which the scheme will be evaluated. Resources to improve safer routes to school will continue to be provided through the Local Transport Plan process.

- providing around £7.5million per annum for at least two years to fund a strengthened team of local school travel plan advisers. Hampshire has been notified that its allocation for 2004/05 is £165,000 which could allow the establishment of a dedicated school travel plan team of up to 4 FTEs. In addition, a regional school travel plan co-ordinator will be located in the Government Office of the South East.

- including measures such as cycle parking, showers and ample locker facilities in the model designs for "Building Schools for the Future". Local authorities will be encouraged to prioritise investment to support sustainable travel when reviewing their asset management plans.

3.2 The availability of additional school travel plan co-ordinators from April 2004 will enable more schools to produce travel plans. The availability of capital grants for schools should also help in persuading schools to become involved in developing school travel plans. This should mean that the number of Hampshire schools with school travel plans will rise towards the percentage envisaged by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister by March 2006.

3.3 However, as the amount of school travel plan activity increases this could lead to pressure on both the capital funds and the highway design resources available to the Environment Department to implement proposals in the school travel plans to provide safer routes to school. It is clear that the DfES/DfT do not expect the capital grants being provided to schools as supporting road infrastructure projects funded through the Local Transport Plan. School capital funds are more likely to be spent on bicycle sheds, improved lockers and showers. Expectations could be raised and not fulfilled if the availability of capital resources do not keep pace with the expanded levels of activity. The Executive Member for the Environment cannot take a decision about the level of capital funding available for safer routes to schools in 2004/05 until the DfT has notified the County Council of its overall transport capital allocation for next year later in December.

3 Joint Meeting with Environment PRC Members

3.1 When the Environment PRC met on 29 October 2003 they also considered a paper on school travel plans and safer routes to schools. At that time the increased allocation for school travel plan advisers for Hampshire had not been announced.

3.2 Members of the Education PRC are asked to consider whether they would wish to nominate three Councillors to meet with colleagues from the Environment PRC to discuss the issues identified by Environment PRC around the promotion of safe and sustainable travel to schools and the need to ensure that capital funding is available to meet increased levels of activity. The Councillors nominated by the Environment PRC are Mrs K, Heron, M Roberts and K House.

4 Recommendation

1. That the increased level of funding from Government to support the development of school travel plans be noted.

2. That three members of Education PRC be nominated to meet the three members of the Environment PRC to discuss the issues identified by the Environment PRC and in this report.

Section D - Local Government Act 1972 - Background Documents

The following documents disclose facts or matters on which this report, or an important part of it, is based and has been relied upon to a material extend in the preparation of this report.

NB The list excludes:

1 Published works

2 Documents which disclose exempt or confidential information as defined the Act.