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The amount of money spent in Wales on measures to encourage walking and cycling has fallen by more than a million despite the Assembly having passed a law aimed at getting people on their bike or on foot.

According to figures supplied by transport minister Edwina Hart to Plaid Cymru, the Welsh Government spent £11.79m on walking and cycling in 2014/15, compared to £13.13m in 2013/14.

That is despite the Active Travel Act, which places a requirement on councils to design and map a network of routes for walking and cycling, having come into force in October 2013.

The Welsh Government said the overall amount of money available to councils for active travel schemes has remained constant, and the amount of money spent each year depends on the quantity and quality of bids received from councils.

But Plaid’s economy and enterprise spokesman, Rhun ap Iorwerth AM, said: “Wales has passed good legislation on Active Travel. Plaid Cymru supported it.

“But we also warned that the Welsh Government would have to spend more. In the first year of the Act, Labour Ministers went backwards on spending.

“The Labour Government needs to show it is serious. It often talks the right talk, but then doesn’t deliver the goods.

“It is early days for the Act and there is now a chance to get the budget right in future years. In times of austerity, it is still possible to prioritise resources.

“We’ve seen large sums committed to roads and motorways, but a fraction of that investment could make a huge difference to walking and cycling.

“By the end of this Assembly term we need to see those overall spending levels exceed what they were under the One Wales government.

“If Labour doesn’t intend to do this, they should drop their rhetoric about creating a more sustainable and more active nation, because their spending plans aren’t matching that.”

Gwenda Owen, a councillor for Wales on the national cycling charity CTC, said: “The Active Travel Act is a very positive step.

“It’s putting a duty on local authorities to map and then plan an integrated network and it’s the envy of people living in England and Scotland.”

But she said the Welsh Government needs to look at the funds available to do the work, and said there needs to be investment in work to change people’s behaviour.

A Welsh Government spokesperson said: “The overall amount available to local authorities for active travel schemes has remained constant.

“The amount of money spent each year depends on the quantity and quality of bids we receive from local authorities.”