R(Transport Action Network) v Secretary of State for Transport (Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy)

The Secretary of State is under a duty to set a Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy for England (Infrastructure Act 2015, section 21). The Strategy must specify objectives and the financial resources to be made available to achieve these objectives. There is also a duty to protect the “certainty and stability” of any such strategy. Pursuant to the above duty, On July 6, 2022, the Secretary of State published the second cycling and walking investment strategy (“CWIS2”), covering the period 2021 to 2025. It set funding for the meeting of various of its objectives. However on March 9, 2023, the government made a statement to Parliament suggesting it had cut funding for active travel, previously set under the CWIS2, by two thirds. Despite there being a statutory power to vary a strategy, no such variation was made to CEIS2, despite the statement to Parliament. Transport Action Network (“TAN”) is an NGO whose objectives include helping local authorities accelerate modal shift to sustainable travel. TAN issued a public law challenge to the March 2023 statement. It argues that by making ad hoc announcements, ministers have tried to unlawfully bypass the framework set by Parliament. It is said that by cutting funding, there is now a stark and inevitable inconsistency between the active travel objectives and the funding to achieve them. Further, ministers appear to have failed to take into account the impacts on climate and air pollution targets, together with their legal duties to make facilities more accessible for people with disabilities and cycling more inclusive for children, older people and women. The High Court initially refused permission for the claim to proceed. However, following a permission hearing on October 26, 2023, that decision was reversed, and the case will now proceed to trial, expected to take place at some point in 2024.