Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 2 February 2016 to Question 23856, what assessment his Department has made of the reasons for the increase in the number of pedal cyclist-killed or seriously injured casualties attributable to poorly-maintained local roads since 2010.

The Department assesses all statistics which relate to pedal cyclist KSIs (killed or seriously injured casualties). 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 are working closely with road safety groups to consider what more can be done in the UK and we believe that every death is a tragedy and is one too many.

We have committed £6.1 billion to tackle the condition of our local road network and, as part of our Road Investment Strategy - the largest upgrade to England’s strategic roads for a generation - we are spending around £100million on cycling safety. We are also working with local councils to provide new guidelines designed to ensure their highways are as safe as possible and free of defects.

The change in the number of accidents is likely to result from a combination of a number of factors. These factors will include the natural variation in the figures and the subjective nature of contributory factors.