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Ministers extend £7.5million school travel funding

DEPARTMENT FOR TRANSPORT News Release (082) issued by The Government News Network on 17 July 2007

A £7.5million annual package of Government funding to help boost sustainable travel to school is to continue for another two years, it was announced today.

Transport Minister Rosie Winterton and Schools Minister Andrew Adonis confirmed that funding would continue for the Travelling to School project, a joint initiative between the Department for Transport and the Department for Children, Schools and Families that encourages children to walk, cycle, or take public transport to school.

The project is based around the development of school travel plans, which set out how an individual school will encourage more sustainable travel and reduce car use. The funding will provide continued support for the network of local authority based school travel advisers, who work with schools to help them draw up and implement their plans.

Rosie Winterton said:

"Walking, cycling and taking public transport to school is a great way to beat congestion, help tackle climate change and improve children's health and fitness.

"Travel plans are important in encouraging sustainable travel to school and over 14,000 schools in England now have one in place. By continuing this funding for another two years, we will continue the drive to help as many schools as possible beat the traffic in their areas. Andrew Adonis said:

"All schools should work with local authorities to develop safe and sustainable travel plans. We want them to cut car use and get young people travelling to school in healthier and more environmentally friendly ways.

"This new funding will help local authorities continue to co-ordinate individual school initiatives so that all areas have an effective and green transport strategy in place."

Notes to Editors

1. The Travelling to School project was launched in 2003. Current funding was due to end in March 2008, and will now continue until 2010.

2. The Department for Transport and the former Department for Education and Skills have been investing £3.75million a year each (£7.5million total) in the project since it started.

3. The Department for Children, Schools and Families (formerly Education and Skills) also provides £20million a year to provide small grants to schools with an approved travel plan to help them implement their plan.

4. There is currently a network of around 250 school travel advisers who help schools develop and implement school travel plans.

5. A school travel plan is a package of measures tailored to the needs of an individual school and designed to reduce car dependency and improve safety for journeys to school. Measures might include cycle training, walking buses, provision of lockers and car sharing schemes.

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