Written question asked by Lord Austin of Dudley (Labour) on Monday, 8 November 2010, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 10 November 2010. It was answered by Norman Baker (Liberal Democrat) on Monday, 22 November 2010 on behalf of the Department for Transport.

Cycling England

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what consultation he undertook before he decided to abolish Cycling England.

Answer: Cycling England was reviewed as part of the coalition Government's commitment to radically increase the transparency and accountability of public services and reinvigorating the public's trust in democracy. The Government's approach was based on the presumption that state activity, if needed at all, should be undertaken by bodies that are democratically accountable at either national or local level.As with all the bodies included in the review, three tests were applied:"Does it perform a technical function?""Does it require political impartiality?""Does it need to act independently to establish facts?"Through this process the decision was taken to bring Cycling England's functions in house.We are grateful for the support of Cycling England in the delivery of cycling policy and recognise its achievements since its creation in 2005. However, with the announcement of a broad fund of £560 million for Local Sustainable Travel, rather than a dedicated cycling budget, we feel that Cycling England is not the right way to continue to encourage local authorities and others to stimulate cycling.

Secondary information