Council leaders have defended active travel measures after auditors found more than half of councils had 'low capability and ambition' to deliver projects.

A new report by the National Audit Office (NAO) said Active Travel England was building greater capability in local authorities to deliver schemes but found 56% of councils have ‘low capability and ambition' to deliver active travel projects, which has affected the quality of interventions delivered with Government funding to date.

Transport spokesperson for the Local Government Association, Linda Taylor, said councils needed 'long-term certainty' to deliver active travel projects.

She added: 'It is therefore disappointing that councils have seen an unexpected £200m cut to their budgets for these projects and the Government should urgently restore this much-needed funding.

'This will allow councils to plan a pipeline of active travel infrastructure investments, engage more effectively with local communities and invest in necessary skills and capacity for their own staff.'