6. 6. Statement: Update on Active Travel

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:13 pm on 20 September 2016.

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Photo of Rebecca Evans Rebecca Evans Labour 5:13, 20 September 2016

I thank you for the welcome that you've given it and for the support that I think that we've had right across the Chamber here in the Assembly today. With regard to the workplace, I think there is an opportunity for employers to be supportive of their employees' efforts to make active travel journeys, for example by providing showers in the workplace and so on. I know we certainly provide that kind of facility here at the National Assembly. Our Cymru Travel Challenge, to which I referred in the statement at the start, is an opportunity for workplaces to engage with what we're trying to achieve here, and many workplaces are also working towards the Healthy Working Wales corporate health standard, which is an opportunity for workplaces to demonstrate to their employees that they take their health seriously and that they’re able and willing to invest in and support them for the future as well.

I'm very keen—. You mentioned engaging with people from an early age, and that's important because walking and cycling have to be seen as an opportunity for everyone, which is why it's been really important that our active travel approach thus far has engaged right across all of the communities, and specifically looking at how we can engage hard-to-reach communities and individuals with the active travel agenda. So, we had an active travel conference, which looked specifically at this and our efforts to increase participation amongst disabled people, women, ethnic minority groups and older people as well, because we don't want people to feel that this perhaps isn't for them, because there are journeys that most of us can be making by foot or by bike.