Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Cycling and Walking

Thursday 11 March 2021 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 1 Partly answered 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • The Government are investing 2 billion in active travel over the rest of this Parliament.
  • Devon County Council has received 1.6 million from the active travel fund in this financial year.
  • Some local authorities have not consulted on schemes as well as desired in the past.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Ben Bradshaw Lab
Transport
Context

The question addresses the government's efforts to encourage more local councils to promote cycling and walking.

Question

What steps the Government are taking to help local authorities increase levels of cycling and walking.

Answer from Chris Heaton-Harris

The Government are investing £2 billion in active travel over the rest of this Parliament, much of which will go to local authorities. This is the biggest ever boost for cycling and walking.

Answered
Was this summary accurate? Tell us

How accurate was this summary? (1 = poor, 5 = spot on)

Q2 Ben Bradshaw Lab
Transport Local Government
Context

There are concerns about certain local authorities, such as Kensington and Chelsea in London, not supporting cycling infrastructure despite central government funding.

Question

Many local authorities, including Conservative-run Devon and Labour-run Exeter, are working very well together to deliver on the Government's vision. What will the Minister do about the small number of obstructionist local councils, such as Kensington and Chelsea in London, which, incredibly, does not have a single segregated bike lane in the whole borough and, furthermore, recently tore out a new temporary one that was very popular with local families, forcing those families and children back out on to a busy main road on their way to school?

Answer from Chris Heaton-Harris

Devon County Council has received £1.6 million from the active travel fund in this financial year and is spending it very wisely. There are local authorities that have not consulted on schemes quite as well as we would have liked in the past. We are trying to rectify that, and we are working from the centre with local authorities that are struggling to deliver schemes, to ensure that they deliver them properly, with the appropriate consultation, and that taxpayers' money is spent wisely.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific actions regarding obstructionist councils like Kensington and Chelsea were not addressed directly.

How: Working From The Centre With Local Authorities, Rectifying Poor Consultations

Was this summary accurate? Tell us

How accurate was this summary? (1 = poor, 5 = spot on)