Written question asked by Tony Baldry (Conservative) on Wednesday, 28 June 2006, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 3 July 2006. It was answered by Baroness Merron (Labour) on Wednesday, 12 July 2006 on behalf of the Department for Transport.

Cycling

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what support his Department is giving to (a) Oxfordshire and (b) other local authorities to help encourage children to cycle to school.

Answer: The Department has provided £270,000 to date to help fund five cycle routes in Oxfordshire which link six schools to the National Cycle Network. £12 million in central Government funds have been invested in this scheme, generating significant match funding from local authorities resulting in overall investment of over £30 million. Over 330 cycle routes to schools have been built or are under construction.In addition a joint Department for Transport and Department for Education and Science capital grants scheme has allocated just over £750,000 to 128 schools in Oxfordshire with travel plans, for infrastructure such as secure cycle parking.Nationally around £57 million of grant has been awarded to over 10,000 schools in England, through this scheme.The Secretary of State for Transport announced recently a doubling of Cycling England’s annual budget from £5 million to £10 million per annum over the next three years. The extra money will be targeted at providing even more links for schools to the National Cycle Network and to provide more cycle training in schools.

Secondary information