Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-02-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Autumn Statement and Spending Review 2015, which cycling programmes his Department plans to fund from the £300 million fund for cycling for 2015-16 to 2020-21; and what other funding for cycling to which cycling programmes his Department plans to fund over that period.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy, to be published in summer 2016, will set out the Government’s plans for investing in cycling and walking.

Otherwise, at the Spending Review the Government reaffirmed its commitment to cycling and walking by committing to investing over £300 million over the life of this Parliament. This includes delivering the Cycle City Ambition scheme in full, a new ‘access’ fund for sustainable travel and our Road Investment Strategy for 2015-20 which includes plans to improve 200 sections of the road network in England for cyclists. We will also provide 1.3 million children with cycling proficiency training through the Bikeability scheme.

Over this period, other Government funding streams will contribute to cycling. Through the Local Growth Fund, an investment of at least £270m is planned by local enterprise partnerships for cycling infrastructure. Local authorities could also use sums from the £1.3bn Integrated Transport Block to 2019/20 for cycling schemes.

It should also be noted that spending on road maintenance can benefit not just motorists but can also lead to improved conditions for cyclists, and a record £6.1billion is allocated to local highway authorities between 2015 and 2021 for road maintenance.