To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when people will be able to apply for Fix Your Bike vouchers.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the number of bicycle shops that will have the £2 million public liability insurance that is required for them to meet the eligibility criteria for the Fix Your Bike voucher scheme.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the number of bicycle repair shops who are SMEs that will be able to accept Fix Your Bike vouchers.

On 23rd May the Secretary of State announced £25 million of funding to provide up to £50 to members of the public wanting to get their old cycles roadworthy again through the Fix Your Bike Voucher Scheme and to help increase the provision of cycle fixing facilities across the country through the Big Bike Revival. We are aiming for applications for vouchers to open to members of the public as soon as possible.

With the help of representatives from the cycle industry, we have designed a scheme that is accessible to a wide range of types and sizes of businesses, including independent shops and SMEs, provided repairs are carried out by competent mechanics.

It is a requirement of the scheme that businesses have appropriate liability insurance to cover the repairs they carry out. This level of cover is an appropriate and standard form of insurance for the sector, and one which is easily accessible to businesses. We therefore expect that the great Majority of bicycle repair businesses in England, SME’s included, will be able to achieve this requirement and participate in the scheme

The scheme opened to registration for bicycle shops on the 22nd of June and we have so far received hundreds of applications from businesses of all sizes. A list of participating businesses is available on the scheme website: fixyourbikevoucherscheme.est.org.uk/.