Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make it his policy to include a commitment to constructing safe paths alongside busy roads in rural areas in the forthcoming National Road Safety Strategy to improve cycle safety.

The Conservative Manifesto 2015 had a commitment to reduce the number of cyclists and other road users killed or injured on our roads every year. We have been working closely with road safety groups to consider what more can be done and expect to publish our Road Safety Statement shortly.

The Road Safety Statement will set out the high level plan and overarching approach to road safety that we expect to take over the rest of the Parliament, and will be followed by a series of more detailed proposals and consultations. The Department for Transport will publish a Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy in 2016 which will set out our plans for investment in safer cycling and walking infrastructure.

Busy roads in rural areas will either be the responsibility of Highways England or local authorities.

Highways England have committed to provide a safer, integrated and more accessible strategic road network for cyclists and other vulnerable road users. To support this, the Government has outlined a commitment to invest £100m between 2015/16 and 2020/21 to improve provision for cyclists on the strategic road network.

On a local level, provision of cycling infrastructure is for local traffic authorities. The Department encourages them to ensure cycling is considered as part of the planning process.The Department for Transport’s Cycle Infrastructure Design guidance supports local authorities on providing cycle-safe infrastructure for cyclists.

It is also worth noting that from within the record £6 billion to be allocated to local highways authorities between 2015 and 2021 for road maintenance, from 2018/19 the plan is to change the formula used to allocate local highways maintenance capital funding so that it also takes into account footways and cycleways as well as the roads, bridges and street lighting, which it is currently based on. Once implemented, around 9% of the funding will be based on footway and cycleway lengths.