Cycling prescribed in trials from Cornwall to Gateshead
Eleven local authorities in England have received funding to enable health workers to prescribe walking and cycling to patients, as part of a £13.9 million trial.
Regular readers will be fully aware of the cost savings to government provided following investment in active travel, and the active travel social prescribing scheme has put that principal into practice.
Launched in August 2022, the scheme is helping councils launch a range of projects that evaluate the impact of active travel on an individual’s physical and mental health, such as through reduced demand for healthcare appointments and reliance on medication due to more physical activity.
The likes of Bradford City Council received £1.34 million for projects that will see patients offered free access to guided walking and cycling activities, cycle training and bike loans. And there has been cycling prescribed in Plymouth too, with the council using its £1.2 million share to tackle patients’ individual barriers to active travel, by working with them on personal walking and cycling plans.
The £13.9 million social prescribing fund was divvied up as follows:
- Bath & North East Somerset Council – £1,612,773
- City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council – £1,340,145
- Cornwall Council – £844,641
- Cumbria County Council – £1,496,432
- Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council – £665,000
- Gateshead Council – £1,431,240
- Leeds City Council – £1,373,444
- Nottingham City Council – £1,588,785
- Plymouth City Council – £1,241,722
- Staffordshire County Council – £834,458
- Suffolk County Council – £1,490,506
Active Travel Commissioner Chris Boardman said: “Many studies have shown active travel has massive health benefits. Enabling everyone in England to travel under their own steam will help reduce conditions such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes, whilst at the same time, improving mental wellbeing.
“We aim to use these trials to build on the existing evidence to show how bringing transport, active travel and health together can help build a healthier nation in an easy and sustainable way.”
Decarbonisation Minister Jesse Norman – who recently helped launch a revised cycle-rail guidance for bike parking and bikes on trains – said: “This funding will help thousands more people across the country to realise the mental and physical health benefits that walking and cycling brings.
“Prescribing walking and cycling will not only improve the health and wellbeing of people across the country but will also reduce pressure on the NHS and help people to choose more sustainable transport choices.”
