Cycling: Government Investment

Peter Bone Excerpts

Wednesday 3rd February 2016 Westminster Hall

[Chris Green]

That sounds like a fantastic opportunity to promote women’s cycling. So much more can be and is, I am pleased to hear, being done to promote role models to show that more people from all kinds of backgrounds can and should participate in cycling, both on the recreational side and for its utility in daily life.

I emphasise that the strategy is about a desire for walking and cycling to become the norm for short journeys or as part of longer journeys. Cycling does not need to be reserved exclusively for exercise—in other words, people pursue it as a sport and have to spend a huge amount of money on a bicycle and wear Lycra. In fact, it is the non-Lycra side of cycling that we need increasingly to promote. Cycling should be seen not as an expensive sport, but as a normal activity that people can undertake while wearing normal clothes and on an affordable bicycle.

Through the promotion of cycling, the Government are creating a catalyst for attitudinal change towards modes of transport and an active lifestyle. Integrating cycling into routines for small journeys, whether that involves popping to the local shop for groceries or cycling to work each day, can have a profound effect on health.

Sport England has reported that 27.7% of adults in England do less than 30 minutes of moderate physical activity a week. It is now feared that, for the first time, children’s life expectancy will be lower than that of their parents because of physical inactivity. Shockingly, one in six deaths is now linked to physical inactivity, which is on a par with smoking as a cause of death. Only yesterday, in the Select Committee on Science and Technology, we heard Professor Dame Sally Davies, the chief medical officer, giving evidence and describing us as living in an “obesogenic environment”—that does not sound very positive.

I hope that in this short time I have highlighted the considerable benefits of investment in cycling for the national economy, local government and community wellbeing and the considerable health benefits that people of any age, gender, fitness level, income or background can get from cycling. It is encouraging to know that, as a country, we are improving on our investment in and promotion of cycling. However, we must keep pressing the issue to avoid complacency and build on the achievements thus far. There is no quick fix or easy solution to create a change in cycling. We need strong leadership from central Government and commitment from local government. There is a great deal more that we can do to get Britain cycling.

I ask the Minister to respond by giving us an update on the Government’s cycling policy and by explaining his intentions and ambitions for the cycling and walking investment strategy, which will be published this summer, and what more the Government can do to ensure that the aim of a “cycling revolution” is achieved.

[Mr Peter Bone (in the Chair)]

Nine hon. Members have put in to speak, and we will try to get through as many as possible. I am therefore happy to impose a three-minute limit on speeches. The House is likely to divide at 5 pm, in which case the sitting will be suspended for 15 minutes if there is one vote, but if we can get back here earlier, we will start earlier.

[Mr Ben Bradshaw (Exeter) (Lab)]

I shall be brief to allow as many colleagues to speak as possible. I congratulate the hon. Member for Bolton West (Chris Green) on securing the debate and on the very salient points that he made. This is the umpteenth debate that we have had in the House since I was elected in 1997, and I want my remarks to focus on the financial commitment to this agenda.

The report by the all-party group in the last Parliament was an important report that all the Back-Bench members signed up to. The Prime Minister declared that he wanted to see a cycling revolution in this country. The Minister is a man who, thankfully, has been in the job for some time, so he knows about it. I believe that he is sincerely committed to this agenda.

We made it clear that the essential components of a successful cycling strategy were political leadership and a sustained funding commitment. The hon. Member for Bolton West was partly right when he talked about the level of funding that the Government have now committed, but the figure that he referred to included London, and London massively skews the overall figures. The overall amount that we are currently being offered in terms of cycling investment is still little more than £1 per head per year, in contrast to the £10 per head per year that the all-party group report said was a starting point, leading to £20, which is equivalent to what most other European countries spend.

We will not deliver the cycling revolution that the Prime Minister spoke about without significant extra resources for cycling. My one request of the Minister is that he explain something that he and predecessors have not really been able to explain to me. We are talking about such a tiny amount of money—a fraction of his roads budget, for example, and a fraction of his overall strategic transport budget. All he would need to do is reallocate a very small amount of money that is already committed to other things—we are not asking for more money from the Treasury—to cycling, and he would deliver the cycling revolution that the Prime Minister says he wants, so my simple question for when the Minister responds is: why can they not do that?

[Mr Peter Bone (in the Chair)]

When the House divides, could I see the Minister, the shadow Minister and the Scottish National party spokesman here?

--- Later in debate ---

[Andrew Stephenson (Pendle) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Davies. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Bolton West (Chris Green) on securing this important debate and other Members on their contributions.

In the time I have represented Pendle, cycling has become an ever more important part of everyday life, whether that is as an activity that people participate in or through events that provide amazing spectator opportunities. In my maiden speech back in 2010, I made reference to the national road race championships, which showcased Pendle’s wonderful countryside and villages to potential future visitors. That major sporting event paved the way for similar events, such as the Colne grand prix that sees my home town centre turned into a race track for a night of racing every July. Most notably, stage 2 of the Tour of Britain last September showcased Pendle and Ribble Valley in all their glory.

Such events are more than just fun memories; they contribute to the local economy. The Tour of Britain itself brought more than £3 million into Pendle and Ribble Valley. Pendle is lucky to have many vibrant businesses linked to cycling, such as Hope Technology in Barnoldswick, which the Prime Minister visited in April 2013. It is a fine example of a firm that is benefiting from the increased interest in cycling in the UK. More than 2 million people now participate in cycling at least once a week. The interest is so great that the company has ambitious plans to build a velodrome to aid its research and development and to create an amazing facility open to the community. I think it would be the first velodrome built in the UK outside a major city.

I cannot let the opportunity pass without mentioning our Olympic hero and gold medallist, Steven Burke. His success at the London 2012 Olympics continues to be an inspiration to many aspiring riders, young and old, in Pendle. That is nowhere more evident than at the Steven Burke cycle hub, a 1 km enclosed floodlit cycle track that opened in 2015 thanks to funding from British Cycling and Sport England’s inspired facilities fund. From that excellent community facility, Cycle Sport Pendle continues to train the next generation of cyclists.

Cycling is of course much more than a spectator sport and an enjoyable pastime; it is a mode of transport. That is why I particularly welcome the Department for Transport’s announcement in December 2015 that £50 million would be provided to fund Bikeability training in our local schools. I had the pleasure of attending a Bikeability session at Sacred Heart Primary School in Colne, where I spoke to the young people involved. They told me how important it was to learn how to ride safely on our roads. Teaching young people to ride safely is important. The Government’s Cycle to Work scheme, which my hon. Friend the Member for Bolton West mentioned, is also important.

I urge the Minister to ensure that we take the opportunity to improve our cities, towns and villages for cyclists, so that we continue to see an increase in the number of people taking to two wheels.

[Mr Peter Bone (in the Chair)]

The Front-Bench spokesmen have been gracious in reducing the time they will take, so I call Ruth Cadbury and ask her to be brief, please.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Minister of State, Department for Transport (Mr Robert Goodwill)]

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Bolton West (Chris Green) on securing this important debate on investment in cycling. Indeed, as part of the Greater Manchester cycle ambition programme, new cycleways are being built in his area: there will be some in Bolton town centre and a route towards Salford along Archer Lane. I also congratulate the hundreds of Twitter users who helped to instigate this debate.

This subject is as close to my heart as it is to the public’s, as I am a self-confessed sprocket head. Indeed, I have made three cycle journeys already today, and before joining the Government I was an active member of the all-party group on cycling. Last week, I spoke in front of that group for an hour, so although my time today is very limited, many of the Members present will have heard what I had to say on that occasion. Also, I was proud to be at last year’s Tour de Yorkshire finish line in Scarborough.

The short answer to the questions asked by the right hon. Member for Exeter (Mr Bradshaw) and the shadow Minister is: yes, we can. But we are of course in an era of devolution of power and budgets. We need to trust the people in the local enterprise partnerships, local authorities and combined authorities to understand the importance of cycling. The evidence so far is that that is working. Indeed, I had a meeting with some LEPs today and made it clear that cycling should be central to some of their work.

The Government want to create a walking and cycling nation, where cycling and walking become the norm for short journeys or as part of a longer journey. Our vision is of streets and public places that support walking and cycling, and a road network where infrastructure for cycling and walking is always being improved. The evidence tells us that more people would cycle if cycling on the road was made safer—incidentally, the risks in London are about the same per kilometre for cycling as they are for walking, but we do not hear people saying, “You must be crazy to walk in London.” The evidence also suggests that the greatest opportunity to increase the levels of cycling in England is to focus investment on providing infrastructure in dense urban environments and towns. Cities that have invested in infrastructure have seen significant increases in cycling.

The cycling and walking investment strategy will go some way to delivering our vision for cycling. In February 2015, the Government introduced through the Infrastructure Act 2015 a duty on the Secretary of State to set a cycling and walking investment strategy in England. Our first publication, “Setting the first Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy”, was published on 17 December 2015. It set out the timescales for publication and our intended structure for the strategy. We aim to consult on a draft first strategy in the spring, with the final strategy published in the summer.

In 2010, under the Labour party, for every person in this country £2 was spent on supporting cycling. Spending on cycling is currently around £6 per person across England and, as we have heard, around £10 per person in London and our eight cycling ambition cities. In future, long-term funding will be available from a wide range of sources, including the new access fund, the integrated transport block, the highways maintenance block and the local growth fund. That means that everywhere that wishes to invest £10 per head will be able to. Local enterprise partnerships are also doing what they can.

In conclusion, the Government understand the importance of a cycling revolution. We absolutely back the Prime Minister in wanting to have that revolution, and we are delivering it with both money and policies.

[Mr Peter Bone (in the Chair)]

I congratulate the hon. Member for Bolton West (Chris Green) on securing the debate. We have had 13 speeches and 16 interventions in an hour.

Question put and agreed to.

Resolved,

That this House has considered Government investment in cycling.