Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to deal with the rise in road casualties among children.

It is important to be clear about the statistics on road casualties. Child road casualties are currently at an historic low. The total number of children who were killed or seriously injured (KSI casualties) in 2015, the last complete calendar year statistics are available for, is 13 per cent lower than the 2010-14 average and represents a 6 per cent fall from the previous year.

Whilst recently published provisional figures for the year ending September 2016 suggest a rise in child KSI casualties in comparison with the year ending September 2015, it is important to note that these provisional figures are estimates based on incomplete returns from police forces and are subject to considerable uncertainty. The provisional 2016 statistics will be revised and not finalised until June 2017.

The government remains firmly committed to providing cycle training to school children in order to give the next generation of cyclists the skills and confidence to cycle safely on local roads. In recognition of the importance of this, we will provide £50 million up to 2019/20 to support Bikeability cycle training in schools. This funding will help to increase children's road awareness, encourage active travel and improve future motorists’ empathy for more vulnerable road users. Recent research shows significant improvements in children’s ability to perceive road hazards after Bikeability training.

We also support child road safety through our THINK! educational resources. We are updating our current programme to include a framework for age appropriate Road Safety Education skills and appropriate material for education practitioners.