Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what funding his Department has made available for cycling in (a) Sunderland and (b) the North East since 2010.

Since 2010, local authorities in England have benefited from over £600m of funding from the Department for Transport (DfT) for sustainable transport initiatives, including cycling and walking, through the Local Sustainable Transport Fund and its successors the Sustainable Travel Transition Year and Access Fund. Details of the areas where DfT funding has been provided can be found at: http://maps.dft.gov.uk/funding-for-sustainable-travel/index.html.

Sunderland Council has benefited from around £100,000 per annum of DfT funding since 2011-12 for Bikeability training. All other DfT funding has been provided to the North East Combined Authority (NECA), which includes Sunderland. The amount of DfT funding provided to NECA, and its predecessor, for sustainable transport (including cycling and walking) was £28.56m from 2011 – 17, this includes £16.32m of Cycle Ambition City funding. DfT does not hold data on how this funding has been allocated between each local authority.

Since 2010 there has also been additional funding, some of which will have benefited cycling and walking in the North East region. This includes through the Local Growth Fund, Highways Maintenance Block and the Integrated Transport Block. Precise amounts spent vary and will depend on decisions made by the relevant local authorities and other local bodies.