To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the merits of setting a target for decreasing the number of fatalities and serious injuries per billion miles walked and cycled.

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the merits of setting a target for decreasing the number of fatalities and serious injuries per billion miles walked and cycled.

To ask His Majesty's Government what lessons they have learned from previous cycling and walking investment strategies; and whether these have been included in Active Travel – Active England: the third cycling and walking investment strategy, published on 12 June.

To ask His Majesty's Government what lessons they have learned from previous cycling and walking investment strategies; and whether these have been included in Active Travel – Active England: the third cycling and walking investment strategy, published on 12 June.

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they hold data on the proportion of children aged between five and 16 who usually walk or cycle to school in England.

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they hold data on the proportion of children aged between five and 16 who usually walk or cycle to school in England.

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to set targets for the key performance indicators set out in the consultation on the third cycling and walking investment strategy, published on 3 November.

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to set targets for the key performance indicators set out in the consultation on the third cycling and walking investment strategy, published on 3 November.

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to measure the key performance indicators in the third cycling and walking investment strategy, specifically for women and girls.

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to measure the key performance indicators in the third cycling and walking investment strategy, specifically for women and girls.

To ask His Majesty’s Government what support they are providing to increase the number of walking, wheeling and cycling paths across the country.

To ask His Majesty’s Government what support they are providing to increase the number of walking, wheeling and cycling paths across the country.

My Lords, in the spending review, the Government allocated £616 million for Active Travel England from 2026 to 2030 to support local authorities to build and maintain walking and cycling infrastructure. Revenue funding details will follow very soon. This is in addition to the almost £300 million for 2025-26 we announced in February, which included £30 million for the Walk Wheel Cycle Trust, formerly Sustrans, to deliver improvements to the national cycle network.

My Lords, in the spending review, the Government allocated £616 million for Active Travel England from 2026 to 2030 to support local authorities to build and maintain walking and cycling infrastructure. Revenue funding details will follow very soon. This is in addition to the almost £300 million for 2025-26 we announced in February, which included £30 million for the Walk Wheel Cycle Trust, formerly Sustrans, to deliver improvements to the national cycle network.

Local highway authorities are responsible for public rights of way and are required to keep a rights of way improvement plan. Where opportunities exist to bring historical routes into use for walking, wheeling or cycling, local authorities must decide how to integrate them into their active travel networks. The Government have announced their intention to remove the 2031 cut-off date for recording unregistered historic rights of way so that routes can continue to be identified, protected and enjoyed. I think the noble Baroness will know that, in respect of new railway lines and particularly HS2, there are plans to use the line of route for walking and cycling paths.

Local highway authorities are responsible for public rights of way and are required to keep a rights of way improvement plan. Where opportunities exist to bring historical routes into use for walking, wheeling or cycling, local authorities must decide how to integrate them into their active travel networks. The Government have announced their intention to remove the 2031 cut-off date for recording unregistered historic rights of way so that routes can continue to be identified, protected and enjoyed. I think the noble Baroness will know that, in respect of new railway lines and particularly HS2, there are plans to use the line of route for walking and cycling paths.

I hesitate to speak in front of such a well-known cyclist as the noble Lord. The answer to that question is to make cycling both more convenient and safer. There are a whole range of measures, including those set out in my two previous responses, to make cycling a more general feature. Of course, safety is a particular issue, which is

why investment is needed in making dedicated cycle paths and in cycling on the highways, which are both important. There are a whole range of measures, many of which will no doubt come up in the next eight minutes, about safety, the Highway Code and all those things, in order to get a much better gender balance in cycling, which the noble Lord is absolutely right to raise.

I hesitate to speak in front of such a well-known cyclist as the noble Lord. The answer to that question is to make cycling both more convenient and safer. There are a whole range of measures, including those set out in my two previous responses, to make cycling a more general feature. Of course, safety is a particular issue, which is

why investment is needed in making dedicated cycle paths and in cycling on the highways, which are both important. There are a whole range of measures, many of which will no doubt come up in the next eight minutes, about safety, the Highway Code and all those things, in order to get a much better gender balance in cycling, which the noble Lord is absolutely right to raise.

My noble friend will know that this is not the first time this subject has been raised in this House. A variety of actions need to be taken, including enforcement, which is of course the responsibility of chief police officers. But he will also note that, in the new Crime and Policing Bill, the Government are proposing new provisions intended to tackle the rare instances where a cyclist’s behaviour is so dangerous or careless that it results in the death or serious injury of another road user, and to treat that with the appropriate seriousness, in the same way as any other road user would be treated.

My noble friend will know that this is not the first time this subject has been raised in this House. A variety of actions need to be taken, including enforcement, which is of course the responsibility of chief police officers. But he will also note that, in the new Crime and Policing Bill, the Government are proposing new provisions intended to tackle the rare instances where a cyclist’s behaviour is so dangerous or careless that it results in the death or serious injury of another road user, and to treat that with the appropriate seriousness, in the same way as any other road user would be treated.

All too frequently, the noble Baroness, Lady Kramer, wants to answer the questions for me; she is very welcome to. The question about permitted development rights is, I think, a blind alley, but I will take some advice and write to the noble Baroness, Lady Jones, about it. What we are talking about is making this easy and economical to do. My Answer demonstrated that the Government are putting money into this activity for local transport authorities and giving them the opportunity to develop their plans. I will take some advice to see whether the noble Baroness’s suggestion is something that I should write to her about.

All too frequently, the noble Baroness, Lady Kramer, wants to answer the questions for me; she is very welcome to. The question about permitted development rights is, I think, a blind alley, but I will take some advice and write to the noble Baroness, Lady Jones, about it. What we are talking about is making this easy and economical to do. My Answer demonstrated that the Government are putting money into this activity for local transport authorities and giving them the opportunity to develop their plans. I will take some advice to see whether the noble Baroness’s suggestion is something that I should write to her about.

The noble Lord was active on this subject during the passage of what became the Bus Services Act. I am delighted to tell him that my colleague in the other place, the Minister for Roads and Buses, has now written to

every local transport authority in England about floating bus stops. I committed in this House to a pause on the particularly difficult design of those that require passengers to board from or alight directly into a cycle track. My colleague has now written to all local authorities to say that there should be a pause on design while we work with interested parties on a better and more satisfactory design.

The noble Lord was active on this subject during the passage of what became the Bus Services Act. I am delighted to tell him that my colleague in the other place, the Minister for Roads and Buses, has now written to

every local transport authority in England about floating bus stops. I committed in this House to a pause on the particularly difficult design of those that require passengers to board from or alight directly into a cycle track. My colleague has now written to all local authorities to say that there should be a pause on design while we work with interested parties on a better and more satisfactory design.

The noble Lord certainly knows about that, because during his time working for the erstwhile Mayor of London, he and the Mayor of London directed me, as the commissioner of transport, to take out more road space for the benefit of cyclists than probably anybody has ever done in London. It certainly is the case that on some occasions that design has reduced bus service speeds, with a detrimental effect on overall journey times. The answer is to give local transport authorities the powers, the money and the training to do the job correctly. Another thing that has been mentioned here before is the additional money for training for local transport authority officers so that the design of cycle lanes, as part of the general highways network, is a benefit to cyclists without being too much of a detriment to other traffic, especially buses.

The noble Lord certainly knows about that, because during his time working for the erstwhile Mayor of London, he and the Mayor of London directed me, as the commissioner of transport, to take out more road space for the benefit of cyclists than probably anybody has ever done in London. It certainly is the case that on some occasions that design has reduced bus service speeds, with a detrimental effect on overall journey times. The answer is to give local transport authorities the powers, the money and the training to do the job correctly. Another thing that has been mentioned here before is the additional money for training for local transport authority officers so that the design of cycle lanes, as part of the general highways network, is a benefit to cyclists without being too much of a detriment to other traffic, especially buses.

The first thing to say is that the Highway Code tells cyclists to behave properly on the road. Enforcement of the Highway Code is up to chief police officers; it is not our job to tell them what to police. When there is enforcement, compliance is much greater—and what we are seeking here is not penalties but compliance. It ought to be safe to cycle and drive, and it ought especially to be safe for pedestrians, particularly those with disabilities, to cross the road when the traffic lights are red.

The first thing to say is that the Highway Code tells cyclists to behave properly on the road. Enforcement of the Highway Code is up to chief police officers; it is not our job to tell them what to police. When there is enforcement, compliance is much greater—and what we are seeking here is not penalties but compliance. It ought to be safe to cycle and drive, and it ought especially to be safe for pedestrians, particularly those with disabilities, to cross the road when the traffic lights are red.

The noble Baroness is absolutely right that currently there are no targets, but the consultation on the third cycling and walking investment strategy, which started on 3 November and runs till 15 December, is wide-ranging and will inform the next strategy, which runs from 2025 to 2030. As part of that, we will consider what targets need to be established, for precisely the reason that she gives.

The noble Baroness is absolutely right that currently there are no targets, but the consultation on the third cycling and walking investment strategy, which started on 3 November and runs till 15 December, is wide-ranging and will inform the next strategy, which runs from 2025 to 2030. As part of that, we will consider what targets need to be established, for precisely the reason that she gives.

I believe that the responsibility of local highway authorities, so long as the bridle path is a public right of way, means that, as I said in my supplementary answer, they are required to keep a rights of way improvement plan. There is a responsibility on local highway authorities to consider the proper establishment of bridle paths. As I have said before, the Government announced their intention to remove the present 2031 cut-off date for recording unregistered historic rights of way, so I advise the noble Baroness that, if she knows of ones that are well used but not registered as rights of way, now is the time to put that right.

I believe that the responsibility of local highway authorities, so long as the bridle path is a public right of way, means that, as I said in my supplementary answer, they are required to keep a rights of way improvement plan. There is a responsibility on local highway authorities to consider the proper establishment of bridle paths. As I have said before, the Government announced their intention to remove the present 2031 cut-off date for recording unregistered historic rights of way, so I advise the noble Baroness that, if she knows of ones that are well used but not registered as rights of way, now is the time to put that right.

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the consultation on the third Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy, published 3 November, what assessment they have made of the percentage of people who achieve 150 minutes of activity a week which would demonstrate successful delivery of the strategy's objectives.

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the consultation on the third Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy, published 3 November, what assessment they have made of the percentage of people who achieve 150 minutes of activity a week which would demonstrate successful delivery of the strategy's objectives.

To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to the third cycling and walking investment strategy published on 3 November, what assessment they have made of the percentage of walking and cycling trips to school which would demonstrate successful delivery of the strategy's objectives.

To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to the third cycling and walking investment strategy published on 3 November, what assessment they have made of the percentage of walking and cycling trips to school which would demonstrate successful delivery of the strategy's objectives.

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the demographic groups with the biggest barriers to the objectives laid out in the third cycling and walking investment strategy, published on 3 November.

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the demographic groups with the biggest barriers to the objectives laid out in the third cycling and walking investment strategy, published on 3 November.