Support for rural businesses
A debate on support for rural businesses will take place in Westminster Hall on 18 June 2025 at 2:30pm. The Library will publish briefing materials ahead of the debate.

Active travel means making journeys by physically active means, like walking or cycling. Given active travel is a devolved policy area, this briefing relates primarily to active travel policies in England.
Active travel: Trends, policy and funding (826 KB , PDF)
Active travel means making journeys by physically active means, like walking or cycling. The Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy, published in 2017, is the Government’s strategy to promote walking and cycling in England. Given active travel is a devolved policy area, this briefing relates primarily to active travel policies in England.
Investing in active travel can bring environmental, health and economic benefits:
Not all towns and cities are designed to be conducive to active travel. Some 62% of adults aged 18+ in England agreed that “it is too dangerous for me to cycle on the roads” while busy roads may deter parents from letting their children walk to school. Thoughtful urban design, and creating integrated transport systems that promote walking and cycling, could encourage people to choose active means of travel. Such design decisions can impact different groups in different ways prioritising the needs of certain users over others.
The covid-enforced lockdown across Great Britain has seen increased rates of walking and cycling. This pattern has been repeated worldwide with city authorities acting rapidly to expand space for cycling and walking.
In May 2020, the UK Government announced a £250 million emergency active travel fund, which is the “first stage of a £2 billion investment, and part of the £5 billion in new funding announced for cycling and buses in February.” the Government also published fast-tracked statutory guidance for local authorities to “make significant changes to their road layouts to give more space to cyclists and pedestrians”.
The Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly have legislative competence for active travel. The Scottish Government has published its Long-Term Vision for Active Travel in Scotland 2030 and is investing £80m on active travel in 2019-20. The Welsh Government passed the Active Travel (Wales) Act 2013 published its Active Travel Action Plan for Wales in 2016.
Active travel: Trends, policy and funding (826 KB , PDF)
A debate on support for rural businesses will take place in Westminster Hall on 18 June 2025 at 2:30pm. The Library will publish briefing materials ahead of the debate.
A bill intended to expand bus franchising powers and to strengthen local authority influence over bus services in England.
There will be a Westminster Hall debate on improving transport connectivity in the North West on 19 March 2025. The debate will be opened by Jo Platt MP (Labour, Leigh and Atherton).