Asked by: Theresa Villiers (Conservative - Chipping Barnet)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what work Sustrans has provided to his Department and its agencies in each of the last six years.
Answered by Jesse Norman
In each of the last six years, funding was provided to Sustrans as follows: £4.65m (2017/18), £26.2m (2018/19), £4.1m (2019/20), £19.4m (2020/21), and £49.5m (2021/22). No funding was provided in 2022/23.
In the last six years, Sustrans has managed four programmes of work for the Department for Transport and Active Travel England. £75m has been provided to upgrade the National Cycle Network. £9.8m has been provided under the Cycle Rail programme for cycle racks, cycle security measures and links to railway stations. £6.3m has been provided under the Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Planning (LCWIP) programme to help local authorities to develop LCWIPs, including training and evidence collection. £13m has been provided for cycling and walking paths around the route of HS2.
Asked by: Theresa Villiers (Conservative - Chipping Barnet)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much funding his Department has provided to Sustrans in each of the last six years.
Answered by Jesse Norman
In each of the last six years, funding was provided to Sustrans as follows: £4.65m (2017/18), £26.2m (2018/19), £4.1m (2019/20), £19.4m (2020/21), and £49.5m (2021/22). No funding was provided in 2022/23.
In the last six years, Sustrans has managed four programmes of work for the Department for Transport and Active Travel England. £75m has been provided to upgrade the National Cycle Network. £9.8m has been provided under the Cycle Rail programme for cycle racks, cycle security measures and links to railway stations. £6.3m has been provided under the Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Planning (LCWIP) programme to help local authorities to develop LCWIPs, including training and evidence collection. £13m has been provided for cycling and walking paths around the route of HS2.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he has taken to help reduce road deaths of cyclists and pedestrians.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
In January 2022 this Government updated The Highway Code to improve road safety for people walking, cycling and riding horses. Changes aim to initiate a positive shift in road user behaviour by making road users aware of their responsibility to use roads safely and reduce the danger they may pose to others.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent estimate he has made of the proportion of local journeys that will be made by active travel in 2030; and on what evidential basis he has made this assessment.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government’s most recent assessment of this, including the evidential basis, was set out in the Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy report to Parliament in July 2022, which is available online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cycling-and-walking-investment-strategy-report-to-parliament-2022. The Government’s latest walking and cycling statistics, published in August 2023, show that in 2022 the proportion of short local journeys made by active travel was 46 per cent in towns and cities.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of requiring electric bike users to (a) have a number plate and (b) be insured.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Department considered issues including a mandatory registration and insurance system for cyclists as part of a cycling and walking safety review in 2018. The review concluded that restricting people’s ability to cycle in this way would mean that many would choose other modes of transport instead, with negative impacts for congestion, pollution and health.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Bosworth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the level of understanding among road users of the changes to the Highway Code introduced in January 2022.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The January 2022 changes to The Highway Code to help improve road safety for people walking, cycling and horse riding have been communicated via:
The campaign has been supported by significant media spend, utilising channels such as radio, digital audio, video on demand and social media advertising.
- The percentage of road users reporting to know either a little or a lot about the Highway Code changes increased from 36% in January 2022 to 58% in August 2022, with 83% of road users having heard of the changes by August 2022.
- The percentage of people who agreed that motor vehicles do have priority on the roads fell from 68% in January 2022 to 61% in August 2022.
- 78% of road users correctly identified the need for a 1.5m gap when passing cyclists in January 2022, rising to 84% in August 2022. Understanding that cyclists may ride two abreast also increased from 30% to 46%. The percentage of drivers reporting that they always leave a 1.5 metre gap when passing cyclists rose from 50% in January 2022 to 58% in August 2022.
- Recognition among the target audience of at least one of the campaign assets was 57% at Phase 1 and 53% at Phase 2. Of the respondents that recognised the 30 second hero assets from Phase 2, nearly nine in ten (84%) said they had done something as a result.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the policy paper entitled Cycling and walking investment strategy report to Parliament 2022, published on 6 July 2022, when he plans to publish the next cycling and walking investment strategy report.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The next report to Parliament is likely to be published alongside the third statutory Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy in 2025.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to tackle changes in the level of bicycle thefts.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Crime Survey for England and Wales for year ending March 2023 shows that the level of bicycle theft offences has reduced by 51% since March 2010.
The Home Office works closely with the British Transport Police (BTP), the national lead for cycle theft, to tackle the theft of bicycles. BTP have launched the ‘double lock it’ campaign with police forces and organisations, providing advice to owners to help better protect their bicycles. Further information on the campaign and bicycle locks can be found here: https://www.btp.police.uk/police-forces/british-transport-police/areas/campaigns/double-lock-it/.
The Department for Transport’s (DfT) Cycling and Walking Plan for England, Gear Change, aims to boost cycling and walking and sets out a number of initiatives to combat cycle theft, including encouraging retailers to number the bicycles they sell and offer customers the opportunity to register their bicycle on a database at the point of sale. The Plan is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cycling-and-walking-plan-for-england.
The BTP-led National Cycle Crime Group, working with DfT, have set up Cycle Crime Reduction Partnerships across the country to coordinate regional enforcement activity to disrupt organised cycle theft.
The Home Office collects and publishes official statistics on the number of bicycle theft offences reported to and recorded by the police in England and Wales and their investigative outcomes, including charges, on a quarterly basis.
These can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-recorded-crime-open-data-tables
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he made of the potential merits of active travel for wheelchair users; and if his Department will provide funding to Active Travel England for initiatives to help improve the physical and mental health of wheelchair users.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
The Department for Transport (DfT) leads in Government on active travel, working with and through Active Travel England. Active travel comprises walking, wheeling, and cycling. Increased physical activity, including through active travel, can have significant health benefits. DfT published its Inclusive Transport Strategy in 2020. This strategy will help ensure that disabled people are able to move around freely through the pedestrian environment and use it to access other modes of transport. If using a cycle, whether as a mobility aid or not, they will be able to use inclusive cycle infrastructure to support their journey. We have made no specific assessment of the potential merits of active travel for wheelchair users.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of changes to funding levels for cycling and walking infrastructure on the UK's ability to meet its emissions targets.
Answered by Jesse Norman
This Government has done more than any other to support walking and cycling and over the course of this Parliament it will be investing around £3 billion in active travel from a wide range of funding streams.
The Government’s Carbon Budget Delivery Plan sets out the projected emission savings from transport policies. The Department will continue to monitor the contributions made by its investment in active travel. As captured in the Carbon Budget Delivery Plan, the carbon savings from active travel make up a relatively small percentage of the total projected carbon savings. The impact of recent active travel funding changes on the ability of the Government to meet its overall emission targets is therefore likely to be small.