Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to improve local cycle infrastructure in cities and towns in Yorkshire.

While decisions on funding for cycle infrastructure improvements are primarily the responsibility of the relevant local transport authority, the Department for Transport is supporting cycle improvements in the Yorkshire area through the Cycle City Ambition programme. We are investing £40.1m to expand the cycle superhighway network in Leeds City Centre and provide new segregated facilities in Bradford, Huddersfield, Wakefield and York centres to increase cycling. When combined with local funding contributions, this programme is seeing over £10 per head spent on cycling in the Yorkshire area.

In addition to this, in the Yorkshire area the Department is providing £945.4k through the Cycle-Rail programme which is improving cycling facilities at stations. Measures include enhanced CCTV and lighting, cycle shelters and nearly 800 meters of cycle links. The Yorkshire and Humber region is also receiving over £8.6m (with over £2.8m going to West Yorkshire) in funding through the Local Sustainable Transport Fund in 2015/16. These packages will implement measures that promote and encourage uptake of sustainable travel options, such as cycling, to increase access to employment and training opportunities, with emphasis on locations of high unemployment, health inequality and congestion.