Oral Answers to Questions

Ruth Cadbury Excerpts

Monday 18th May 2020 Commons Chamber

[Rachel Maclean]

I can tell my hon. Friend that we are working urgently to provide further support to bus operators so that they can run service provision as people return to work and at the same time observe social distancing.

[Ruth Cadbury (Brentford and Isleworth) (Lab)]

What support the Government are providing to local authorities to promote active travel among people returning to work as the covid-19 lockdown is eased.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Rachel Maclean) [V]]

On 9 May, the Government announced a £2 billion package of support for active travel. This includes £250 million of funding this financial year to support people to take up cycling and to enable local authorities to make their roads and pavements safer.

[Ruth Cadbury [V]]

I welcome the £250 million funding so that cycling and walking improvements can be rapidly installed ahead of the expected tidal wave of traffic as people go back to work, but when will the Government finally publish their long-awaited revised design guidance on cycle-friendly infrastructure and the evidence that they commissioned back in 2018 on the amount of funding needed to meet their targets to double cycling and increase walking by 2025?

[Rachel Maclean]

I recognise that the hon. Lady is a really keen cyclist. We want to boost cycling across the country. The schemes that she refers to are being worked at, and we can provide further details of those in due course.