Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of rural road conditions on (a) cycling and (b) horse rider safety.

The Government agrees that the condition of our local road network, both in rural and urban areas, has suffered as the result of a decade of underinvestment by the previous government. Poor road conditions can be particularly dangerous for cyclists and horse-riders, because they can cause vehicles to swerve at the last minute and because the consequences of hitting a pothole can be far worse for cyclists and horse-riders than for motorists.

To enable local authorities in rural areas and elsewhere to start to get on top of the highway maintenance backlog and deliver smoother, safer roads for all road users, the Government has already announced a £500 million funding uplift for local highway authorities for next financial year. Funding allocations to individual highway authorities were announced on 20 December, and Dorset is set to receive up to £25 million, a funding uplift of nearly £7 million compared to the current financial year. It is up to each local authority to decide how best to spend this funding, and in planning their maintenance programmes they should consider the needs of all road users, including cyclists, pedestrians and horse-riders.