Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made with the Mayor of London on the effect of social distancing requirements during the covid-19 outbreak on train capacity in Kingston; and what plans the Government has to provide financial support to local authority leaders in Kingston to encourage sustainable modes of travel to work.

During the Covid-19 outbreak, capacity across public transport networks is constrained to allow social distancing. The Government’s message is clear that public transport should only be used for essential journeys and passengers should, wherever possible, find alternative methods of travel.

The London Borough of Kingston upon Thames has recently been allocated an indicative £100,000 from the Emergency Active-Travel Fund to help the borough fund pop-up and temporary interventions to create an environment for safe walking and cycling in the borough.