Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will consider the issue of pavement parking as a barrier to safe walking within his Department's Cycling and Walking Delivery Plan; and if he will make a statement.

Information on local authority traffic regulation orders is not collected centrally.

We are currently considering responses received to our recent consultation on the Cycling Delivery Plan, including issues relating to increasing walking and promoting safe walking.

The Department for Transport has made no assessment of the cost to councils of damage caused by parking on pavements. The Department has recently announced how it is allocating just under £6 billion in funding for local highways maintenance to councils in England, outside London and this funding could be used to help repair footways.

The provisions of the Pavement Parking Private Members' Bill warrant both an impact assessment and a full public consultation. The Bill has yet to receive a second reading in this House and is most unlikely to complete its Parliamentary passage in the time available. It would be inappropriate for the Department to invest public resource in the circumstances.