To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what funding his Department has made available for cycling in (a) rural areas and (b) Cheshire East since 2010.

The Government’s Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy (published April 2017) includes funding of £1.2 billion from 2016-21 to support our ambition to make cycling and walking the natural choice for shorter journeys in every urban and rural community in England.

Since 2010, rural local authorities have benefited from funding for sustainable forms of transport, including cycling and walking, through the Local Sustainable Transport Fund and its successors the Sustainable Travel Transition Year and Access Fund. Additionally, from 2013-15 the Department for Transport (DfT) provided £17million to benefit rural areas by improving cycling infrastructure in and around national parks. Details of the areas where DfT funding has been allocated can be found at: http://maps.dft.gov.uk/funding-for-sustainable-travel/index.html

Cheshire East council has benefited from the following DfT investment since 2010 which will help to encourage cycling: