Annette Brooke (Mid Dorset & North Poole, Liberal Democrat)

To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport pursuant to the answer of 20 October 2009, Official Report, column 101W, on cycling: helmets, how much his Department has spent on informing those (a) under 16 and (b) 16 or more years old of the risks of cycling without helmets; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Clark (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department for Transport; Gillingham, Labour)

The Think! campaigns for children include advice on the use of cycle helmets, as part of wider campaigns. These include Tales of the Road for children aged six to 11, launched in November 2008, which includes both pedestrian and cycle safety, including use of helmets, in the supporting materials, although the three TV adverts focus on pedestrian safety. In April 2009, we launched Think Education, to provide teachers and parents with good quality teaching materials covering all road safety issues. Advice on cycle helmets is part of these materials. So far they cover pre-school and upper primary age ranges. Materials for lower primary and secondary age groups up to 16 will be launched next year. Total spending on these campaigns is £3,525,000 but it is not possible to identify separately the proportion related to the information on cycle helmet use.

Advice on cycle helmet use, for all ages, is also included in the cycling section of the Highway Code. Spending on the Highway Code is covered by revenue raised from sales of priced copies. The material is also available free on the DirectGov website.

We have commissioned research on a range of cycle safety issues, which includes identifying good practice in encouraging use of cycle helmets. The project commenced on 21 August 2008 and will run for 24 months. The Department for Transport expects to publish the final reports in autumn 2010 but is aiming to complete the review of cycle helmet effectiveness later this year. Total spend on this project will be in the region of £537,000.