Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the value for money of public investment in (a) roads and (b) electric vehicles in comparison with investment in cycling and walking.

Roads are fundamental for the nation’s economic success. The roads investment strategy will ensure that success by providing the transport infrastructure to keep the population connected and the economy flowing. The Department for Transport has carried out analysis of the Roads Investment Strategy and this shows it to be very high value for money. The analysis is published at https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/411417/ris-economic-analysis.pdf

Investment in the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) programme has also been assessed in line with the Department for Transport’s appraisal guidance and is expected to deliver very high value for money.

The Department for Transport has also looked at the value for money of a number of recent cycling and walking interventions and found them to offer high or very high value for money. The analysis is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cycling-and-walking-the-economic-case-for-action

It is worth noting that investment in roads does not just benefit motorists but can also have benefits for cyclists. For example, the Roads Investment Strategy includes a ring-fenced fund of £100mn to 2020/21 to improve provision for cyclists travelling alongside and crossing the strategic road network. Highways England has also committed to cycle-proof all new road investments. We are also providing nearly £6bn funding for local highways road maintenance over the 6-year period to 2020/21, which will help to tackle potholes and improve local roads.