National news Travel trends and health benefits Cleaner air to come The Joint Air Quality Unit (JAQU) has provided updates on the implementation of upcoming clean air zones (CAZs). In Bradford, a Class C CAZ was due to launch on 26 September. Uptake of grants under the Clean Air Fund to upgrade taxis has been strong, and 92 per cent of taxis in Bradford are now compliant. Bristol is due to launch its Class D CAZ on 28 November. Sheffield and Tyneside are planning to introduce Class C CAZs in early 2023. JAQU is currently reviewing the evidence provided in Greater Manchesters recent clean air proposal. See britishparking-media.co.uk/ campaigns/clean-air for the latest information on CAZs. Trevelyan takes up post as Transport Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan has been appointed Transport Secretary by Prime Minister Liz Truss. Trevelyan, who is MP for Berwick-upon-Tweed, was appointed Secretary of State for International Development in 2020, and was president of the Board of Trade from 2021 to 2022. She replaces Grant Shapps, who held the position from July 2019 until September 2022. TfL settlement announced A settlement that will support almost 3.6bn worth of projects has been agreed between the government and Transport for London (TfL). It includes around 1.2bn of upfront funding and brings the governments total funding to more than 6bn. The settlement matches the Mayor of Londons pre-pandemic spending plans, and will dedicate 80m per year to active travel schemes, expanding walking and cycling infrastructure. Thank you, maam The BPA was sad to hear of the death of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II and joined the rest of the nation in mourning last month. Our thoughts and prayers are with the royal family at this very sad time. Anjna Patel MBE, Chair of the BPA Board, said: I was fortunate to meet Her Majesty on several occasions. What an amazing life, and what an incredible role model and inspiration she was for the nation and Commonwealth with her unstinting commitment and dedication during her 70-year reign. Rest in peace Your Majesty, and thank you for your service. As we look to the future, we wish His Majesty King Charles III every success. NFI consultation response In August the government published its response to its consultation on extending the National Fraud Initiative (NFI) Data Matching Powers and the new Code of Data Matching Practice. It is disappointing that, for now at least, the government has decided not to extend its powers to include recovering debt owed to public bodies. The BPAs response, made in May 2021, highlighted the recovery of persistent evader debt as unworkable under the Traffic Management Act 2004. The BPA would also like to have seen the NFIs data matching powers be widened to include prevention and detection of errors and inaccuracies. However, the government has said it intends to create a new Public Sector Fraud Authority. The Department for Transport has published its annual National Travel Survey. The statistics cover personal travel during 2021 by residents of England travelling within Britain. The survey showed there were increases in trip rates among car passengers and all public transport modes in 2021, compared with 2020, and decreases in other private and active transport modes, such as cycling. Find the survey at bit.ly/PNOct22AT Social prescriptions, including walking, wheeling and cycling, will be offered by GPs as part of a new trial to improve mental and physical health. The government has awarded 12.7m in multi-year funding to 11 local authority areas in England as part of the trial. The full response is at bit.ly/PNOct22GR and the BPAs response is at bit.ly/PNOct22BR 8 PN Oct 2022 pp08-09 National News.indd 8 23/09/2022 14:03