CWIS3 is delayed – but what is it, and what impact could this have?

Jack Mayorcas, Public Affairs Lead at Fusion Media, gives insight into the

delays to CWIS3 (the Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy), and what this means for the industry and schemes in your area.

The political and policy worlds are absolutely full of acronyms, although none are perhaps as obscure as ‘’CWIS’’. When you say it out loud, it sounds a bit like a cleaning product – and I would wager that the vast, vast majority of people would have absolutely no idea what it means. 

Despite its unassuming name, it is probably the most important element of government transport policy when it comes to walking, cycling and wheeling. It stands for the Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy, and it was introduced under the Infrastructure Act of 2015. 

This required the Government to set out its investment and strategy plans for cycling and walking in England. Although it gave power to the Secretary of State to decide how long they should run for, it mandated that ‘’a Strategy for a period of more than five years must be reviewed at least once every five years’’. 

Following a public consultation, the first CWIS was launched in April 2017 and outlined the then government’s ambition to ‘’make cycling and walking a natural choice for shorter journeys, or as part of longer journeys by 2040’’. As part of this, it also set out the objectives, aims, targets, detailed the financial resources available and included a number of indicators that would help the Government understand how they were performing.

CWIS2 was launched in 2020 as part of the Gear Change initiative under Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Seen as by far the most ambitious government approach to active travel ever, Gear Change set out a vision for England to become a great walking and cycling nation, with a target of 50% of journeys in towns and cities being cycled or walked by 2030. 

Against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic and the surge in cycling and walking that the period saw, CWIS2 was backed by £2 billion of investment over five years – and was due to end in March 2025. 

When it comes to how this translates to schemes you might see in your area, funding from the CWIS reaches local projects through a mix of direct allocations and competitive grants from central government, often requiring high-quality design and alignment with local infrastructure plans. 

Local authorities use this funding to deliver walking and cycling schemes, with oversight from Active Travel England to ensure impact and accountability. This differs slightly for devolved combined authority areas such as Greater Manchester or the West Midlands. 

So, that’s the history and funding lesson over. 

As March approached, the active travel world was looking eagerly towards Westminster for any sign of CWIS3. When no consultation had been launched (a statutory requirement under the Infrastructure Act 2015), it became clear that a delay was likely. 

The delay was confirmed by Simon Lightwood MP (the Minister responsible for Active Travel) on the 28th March, via a written statement to Parliament, saying ‘’I am today informing Parliament of my intention to publish a third cycling and walking investment strategy (CWIS3) following the conclusion of the Spending Review.’’ 

In essence, he stated that the timing of the Spending Review meant that it had to come first – as it would dictate what long-term funding would be available for walking and cycling. 

Considering that a full consultation is required before CWIS3 can be launched, and to date, no consultation has been announced, we are looking at a delay of at least 5-6 months. This could have a number of knock-on effects, with uncertainty for Local Authorities around funding for projects. 

It is also yet another example of a fractured funding landscape for active travel, which is a consistent gripe for those tasked with delivery. How can you set out plans for years and decades to come when you don’t know how much money is available? The current Government has at least acknowledged the issues that arise from a lack of long-term certainty, and previous Secretary of State for Transport, Louise Haigh MP, talked of long-term settlements for local authorities. That is, of course, also the mood music for Mayoral Combined Authority areas, although only 4 in 10 people in England now live in an area with a devolution deal and a directly elected Mayor.

This is something that has an impact both at the local and national level. Chris Boardman (the National Active Travel Commissioner for Active Travel England), who recently spoke at our Future of Active Travel event, said earlier this year at a Transport Select Committee meeting that ‘’our funding [has] fluctuated massively’’. 

That it seems that CWIS3 is tied so closely to the outcome of the Spending Review is concerning. It’s clear that the Government is operating within a tight fiscal environment, and that this is unlikely to change, even on issues where there is strong internal pressure within the Labour Party. 

And yet, it is well established that spending on active travel yields significant financial and health benefits – for every £1 spent, the average return is £5.62, compared to just £2.50 for roads. This difference reflects the wider benefits that come from enabling more people to cycle, walk and wheel. 

It is also, in some senses, ‘’doing things the wrong way round’’. CWIS3 should have come before the Spending Review, so that the DfT could have a clear idea of what funding is required to deliver on the targets set. Rather than seeking funding from what will be a fixed overall pot following the review. 

According to Highways Magazine many of the targets set out in CWIS2 are already set to be missed. For example, they highlight that ‘’the estimated total number of cycling stages made each year has only progressed by 0.1bn in the last 12 years. To make the target, these stages would have had to increase by a further 0.7bn by the time the official 2025 figures come out next year.’’

It is a point that the National Audit Office made in its Value for Money report on Active Travel in England in June 2023, highlighting that “in practice, DfT has known too little about what has been achieved and has not been able to influence the local delivery of schemes consistently. This has led to patchy delivery of active travel schemes, and it is unlikely that DfT’s objectives for increased active travel by 2025 will be achieved.”

So, whilst the wait for CWIS3 goes on, all eyes turn to the Spending Review to see if there are any clues or hints that we can glean. In a time where we need to maximise land efficiency for new housing (car-dependent developments do the opposite) and where there’s a concerted effort to reduce strain on the NHS (focusing on prevention and not just treatment), we hope that active travel gets the funding it deserves.

Jack Mayorcas is the Public Affairs Lead at Fusion Media, he is also a Councillor in Wandsworth and Chair of the Transport Committee. 

Fusion’s goal is to move people and get more people moving. Fusion is a partner for brands looking to make change and create fresh ways to talk to stakeholders, customers and the media. Find out more about Fusion’s Public Affairs work on their website.