Oral Answers to Questions

Lloyd Russell-Moyle Excerpts

Thursday 2nd July 2020 Commons Chamber

[James Daly (Bury North) (Con)]

What steps his Department is taking to increase levels of cycling and walking.

[Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Brighton, Kemptown) (Lab/Co-op)]

What support the Government are providing to local authorities to promote active travel.

[The Secretary of State for Transport (Grant Shapps)]

The Government have provided £250 million of funding to local authorities this financial year to increase levels of active transport.

--- Later in debate ---

[Grant Shapps]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The Manchester Bee Network is extremely important. I can inform him that the Greater Manchester Combined Authority has already had £3.174 million to assist in projects such as this and, of course, either myself or the Minister with responsibility for cycling will be absolutely delighted to meet him.

[Lloyd Russell-Moyle]

I thank the Department for the support it has given Brighton and Hove Council to move forward on some of its street schemes, but the developing lungs of children are the most vulnerable, so air quality around schools is important as is, of course, the fitness that we want to encourage in children. As we have heard, London has already started taking action on school street schemes, so will the Secretary of State bring into effect part 6 of the Traffic Management Act 2004 to enable local authorities outside London to start to enable school street schemes to keep our children safe and reduce the 40,000 deaths because of poor air quality every year?

[Grant Shapps]

I will.