(1 day, 5 hours ago)
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Baroness Pidgeon
To ask His Majesty’s Government what support they are providing to increase the number of walking, wheeling and cycling paths across the country.
The Minister of State, Department for Transport (Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill) (Lab)
My Lords, in the spending review, the Government allocated £616 million for Active Travel England from 2026 to 2030 to support local authorities to build and maintain walking and cycling infrastructure. Revenue funding details will follow very soon. This is in addition to the almost £300 million for 2025-26 we announced in February, which included £30 million for the Walk Wheel Cycle Trust, formerly Sustrans, to deliver improvements to the national cycle network.
Baroness Pidgeon (LD)
I welcome the Minister’s Answer, but can I push him, as part of the Government’s strategy development, to mandate public rights of way for walking, wheeling and cycling alongside new railway lines, as well as improving existing railway active travel routes, transforming more disused railway lines into public rights of way?
Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill (Lab)
Local highway authorities are responsible for public rights of way and are required to keep a rights of way improvement plan. Where opportunities exist to bring historical routes into use for walking, wheeling or cycling, local authorities must decide how to integrate them into their active travel networks. The Government have announced their intention to remove the 2031 cut-off date for recording unregistered historic rights of way so that routes can continue to be identified, protected and enjoyed. I think the noble Baroness will know that, in respect of new railway lines and particularly HS2, there are plans to use the line of route for walking and cycling paths.
Lord Young of Cookham (Con)
My Lords, in Holland, 55% of cyclists are women. In this country it is less than half that, at 25%, so what are the Government doing to encourage more women to enjoy the benefits of cycling?
Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill (Lab)
I hesitate to speak in front of such a well-known cyclist as the noble Lord. The answer to that question is to make cycling both more convenient and safer. There are a whole range of measures, including those set out in my two previous responses, to make cycling a more general feature. Of course, safety is a particular issue, which is why investment is needed in making dedicated cycle paths and in cycling on the highways, which are both important. There are a whole range of measures, many of which will no doubt come up in the next eight minutes, about safety, the Highway Code and all those things, in order to get a much better gender balance in cycling, which the noble Lord is absolutely right to raise.
Lord Watts (Lab)
My Lords, while the Minister is on this subject, can he update the House on what action has been taken against cyclists who dangerously ride their bikes around the country, often causing damage to the general public?
Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill (Lab)
My noble friend will know that this is not the first time this subject has been raised in this House. A variety of actions need to be taken, including enforcement, which is of course the responsibility of chief police officers. But he will also note that, in the new Crime and Policing Bill, the Government are proposing new provisions intended to tackle the rare instances where a cyclist’s behaviour is so dangerous or careless that it results in the death or serious injury of another road user, and to treat that with the appropriate seriousness, in the same way as any other road user would be treated.
Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (GP)
My Lords, is there a plan to put in new permitted development rights for cycle, wheel and walking routes? That could be done quite easily by changing existing regulations. Allowing these paths to go ahead is crucial for human health.
Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill (Lab)
All too frequently, the noble Baroness, Lady Kramer, wants to answer the questions for me; she is very welcome to. The question about permitted development rights is, I think, a blind alley, but I will take some advice and write to the noble Baroness, Lady Jones, about it. What we are talking about is making this easy and economical to do. My Answer demonstrated that the Government are putting money into this activity for local transport authorities and giving them the opportunity to develop their plans. I will take some advice to see whether the noble Baroness’s suggestion is something that I should write to her about.
Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms and Chief Whip (Lord Kennedy of Southwark) (Lab Co-op)
My Lords, it is the turn of the Cross Benches.
Lord Hampton (CB)
My Lords, can the Minister update us on the review of floating bus stops, which are truly democratic in that they are lethal for everybody?
Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill (Lab)
The noble Lord was active on this subject during the passage of what became the Bus Services Act. I am delighted to tell him that my colleague in the other place, the Minister for Roads and Buses, has now written to every local transport authority in England about floating bus stops. I committed in this House to a pause on the particularly difficult design of those that require passengers to board from or alight directly into a cycle track. My colleague has now written to all local authorities to say that there should be a pause on design while we work with interested parties on a better and more satisfactory design.
Lord Moylan (Con)
My Lords, at this time of year, the thoughts of many of us, like those of the noble Lord, Lord Hampton, turn away from active travel and towards the bus. Much cycle infrastructure that has been installed has inhibited bus journeys and contributed to deteriorating journey times. Does the Minister think that the powers on transport to be devolved to local authorities in the English devolution Bill will make this situation better or worse, and why?
Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill (Lab)
The noble Lord certainly knows about that, because during his time working for the erstwhile Mayor of London, he and the Mayor of London directed me, as the commissioner of transport, to take out more road space for the benefit of cyclists than probably anybody has ever done in London. It certainly is the case that on some occasions that design has reduced bus service speeds, with a detrimental effect on overall journey times. The answer is to give local transport authorities the powers, the money and the training to do the job correctly. Another thing that has been mentioned here before is the additional money for training for local transport authority officers so that the design of cycle lanes, as part of the general highways network, is a benefit to cyclists without being too much of a detriment to other traffic, especially buses.
Lord Grocott (Lab)
Further to the question asked by my noble friend Lord Watts, we all know, and the Minister knows, that if a motorist goes through a red light, there are consequences, whether that is points on the licence, fines or maybe increased insurance costs. Can the Minister remind the House what penalties accrue to cyclists when they go through red lights?
Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill (Lab)
The first thing to say is that the Highway Code tells cyclists to behave properly on the road. Enforcement of the Highway Code is up to chief police officers; it is not our job to tell them what to police. When there is enforcement, compliance is much greater—and what we are seeking here is not penalties but compliance. It ought to be safe to cycle and drive, and it ought especially to be safe for pedestrians, particularly those with disabilities, to cross the road when the traffic lights are red.
Baroness Kramer (LD)
Can the Minister comment on the fact that the Government’s consultation for the new cycling and walking investment strategy for England does not set any specific targets to increase those modes of transport, and there are no KPIs to make it more inclusive for people with disabilities, for example? Will the Minister ensure that the final strategy addresses those concerns? If it does not, we will not see the action we need.
Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill (Lab)
The noble Baroness is absolutely right that currently there are no targets, but the consultation on the third cycling and walking investment strategy, which started on 3 November and runs till 15 December, is wide-ranging and will inform the next strategy, which runs from 2025 to 2030. As part of that, we will consider what targets need to be established, for precisely the reason that she gives.
Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Con)
My Lords, are there any plans to increase the number of bridle paths as well? The roads are becoming ever more dangerous for horse riders—and I declare my interest as a horse rider.
Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill (Lab)
I believe that the responsibility of local highway authorities, so long as the bridle path is a public right of way, means that, as I said in my supplementary answer, they are required to keep a rights of way improvement plan. There is a responsibility on local highway authorities to consider the proper establishment of bridle paths. As I have said before, the Government announced their intention to remove the present 2031 cut-off date for recording unregistered historic rights of way, so I advise the noble Baroness that, if she knows of ones that are well used but not registered as rights of way, now is the time to put that right.