John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Answer of 24 October 2023 to Question 202707on Police: Cycling, if she will hold discussions with police forces on establishing guidelines on the costs of security for large cycling tours.
John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much police forces spent on policing cycling tours in (a) 2021 and (b) 2022.
John Hayes: ...of the fact that families and businesses rely on that network every day. While we take forward a number of policies that play a role in strengthening family life, including our £1.2bn cycling and walking investment plan, extension of the young person’s railcard and introduction of more flexible rail season tickets, it is rare for specific transport legislation to have a significant...
John Hayes: ...more than £61bn in transport capital investment over the five years to 2020/21; record investment to make the network more reliable and better connected. In April this year, we published the Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy, a £1.2bn plan to make cycling and walking the natural choice for the shorter, local journeys that are fundamental to family life. By creating safer streets,...
John Hayes: ...in my previous answer. They can be put into hazardous circumstances by a range of different obstacles that they encounter as they go about their business. The Government are strongly committed to cycling, as I think he knows, but he is right that we must look closely at the hazards cyclists face, and that will be included in the strategy.
John Hayes: Public hire schemes are an important part of extending provision and making cycling more widely available. As the hon. Lady will know, different schemes apply in different localities. Clearly, I am always happy to have discussions with her about this, but there are no imminent plans to make the changes that she describes.
John Hayes: ...improvements in air quality and transition to a low-emission economy. Measures that could be implemented include the promotion of ultra-low emission vehicles; upgrading buses and taxis; promoting cycling schemes; and, in the worst cases, charging for the most polluting vehicles. In 2015 we named five cities, Birmingham, Leeds, Nottingham, Derby and Southampton, that are required to...
John Hayes: ...straight answer to another straight question from the right hon. Gentleman. In February this year we awarded almost £3.7 million of funding to projects, including one in Gateshead to encourage cycling and to upgrade traffic management, and another in Nottingham to trial fuel cell technology and to encourage ultra-low emission vehicles in the local NHS. Alongside that, we are making...
John Hayes: Buses are good, walking is good, cycling is good—that was how I got to school.
John Hayes: ..., as well as to those who have taken a leading role, if I may put it in those terms, on both sides of the House. Bigger, better, well-funded roads; more straightforward planning; safer fracking; a cycling strategy; and we have saved the beaver. What’s not to like? The Bill deserves its Third Reading. Question put and agreed to. Bill accordingly read the Third time and passed.
John Hayes: ...better integration between local and national networks through route strategies. As has been celebrated throughout the House this evening, we have also committed to setting and reporting upon a cycling and walking investment strategy, acknowledging the strategic importance of those things for the first time. We have had more tributes tonight than a ’60s pop band for that change. In...
John Hayes: I will address matters in reverse order to add excitement. On cycling and spending, I said at the outset, but repeat for the sake of clarity, that this Government have committed to spend £374 million between 2011 and 2015. We have more than doubled spending on cycling compared with the last four years of the previous Government. As I said, about £6 per person each year across England and...
John Hayes: ...—that is, the Bill, which sets in motion a road investment strategy about which I shall wax lyrical in a moment. It would be ironic to have a road investment strategy without having a walking and cycling strategy alongside it. That case was made by cyclists here in the House and beyond, and it is a persuasive one. The hon. Gentleman can look forward to the achievement of his ambitions...
John Hayes: I rise with some enthusiasm because, as the House knows, cycling has moved up a gear as a result of this Government. New clause 13 reflects the Government’s commitment to cycling and walking, and making these the natural choice for shorter journeys. The cycling fraternity has responded already. No less a personage than Chris Boardman described this proposal as representing “a massive...
John Hayes: That was not deliberate, but I wish it had been. The hon. Member for Birmingham, Northfield understandably devoted a good deal of time to discussing cycling and walking. It is perfectly reasonable to argue that we should take proper account of cycling and walking in our broader considerations of how future transport supply and demand will develop. I wholly agree with the hon. Gentleman about...
John Hayes: ...that I set out. We are investing £5 billion, which will help to connect housing, enterprise zones and other industrial developments to help economic growth. We are investing £250 million for cycling, safety and integration, improving safety and facilitating travel alongside and across the SRN, and we have set clear environmental commitments on reducing biodiversity loss and noise...
John Hayes: ...in environmental measures within the Road Investment Strategy. These include the Environment ring-fenced fund which includes provision for rapid charging points across the network, and the Cycling, Safety and Integration fund with funding for improving cycling and walking infrastructure around the Strategic Road Network. No estimate of carbon emissions associated with construction has...
John Hayes: ...spend has allowed us to allocate funds not only to areas of the road network that have the greatest need, but where we can make the most difference. The fact that there is £100 million to improve cycling provision at 200 key locations across the network reflects our understanding that it is not just motorists and hauliers who count. There is a £300-million environmental fund to mitigate...
John Hayes: ...transport block funding is available to local transport authorities in England outside London, for small transport improvement projects such as road safety schemes, junction improvements and cycling infrastructure. The funding allows local authorities to ensure that their transport networks are kept in good condition, enabling them to improve road safety and stimulate local economies by...
John Hayes: It is a hallmark of this Government that we have taken cycling as seriously as we have, and that is in no small measure due to the work of the Under-Secretary, my hon. Friend the Member for Scarborough and Whitby (Mr Goodwill). All new road schemes must take account of cycling provision, and, although I am never unnecessarily partisan in this Chamber, as you know, Mr Speaker, I am not sure...