To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions her Department has had with (a) the Royal National Institute of Blind People, (b) Guide Dogs, and (c) the National Federation of the Blind of the UK on the accessibility of floating bus stop designs.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions her Department has had with (a) the Royal National Institute of Blind People, (b) Guide Dogs, and (c) the National Federation of the Blind of the UK on the accessibility of floating bus stop designs.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether local highway authorities are eligible for central government funding for bus stop schemes that do not incorporate floating bus stop designs.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether local highway authorities are eligible for central government funding for bus stop schemes that do not incorporate floating bus stop designs.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether an Equality Impact Assessment was undertaken in relation to the guidance entitled Floating Bus Stops: Provision and Design.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether an Equality Impact Assessment was undertaken in relation to the guidance entitled Floating Bus Stops: Provision and Design.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has had discussions with the Prime Minister on the impact of floating bus stop designs on the ability of blind, disabled and older people to board and alight from buses independently.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has had discussions with the Prime Minister on the impact of floating bus stop designs on the ability of blind, disabled and older people to board and alight from buses independently.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress her Department has made on standardising signage for national and local cycle routes; and whether she plans to introduce a national approach to cycle route signage.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress her Department has made on standardising signage for national and local cycle routes; and whether she plans to introduce a national approach to cycle route signage.

Across the country, people enjoy traffic-free walking, cycling and wheeling on disused railways such as the Tissington trail in Derbyshire, the Mawddach trail in Gwynedd or the Deeside way in Aberdeenshire. What steps will the Secretary of State take to make it easier for local government and communities to gain access to the 8,000 miles of disused railway that we still have, which creates such a good opportunity for family-friendly cycling trails, as part of a national network?

Across the country, people enjoy traffic-free walking, cycling and wheeling on disused railways such as the Tissington trail in Derbyshire, the Mawddach trail in Gwynedd or the Deeside way in Aberdeenshire. What steps will the Secretary of State take to make it easier for local government and communities to gain access to the 8,000 miles of disused railway that we still have, which creates such a good opportunity for family-friendly cycling trails, as part of a national network?

The disused part of the rail network is currently in the custody of National Highways. I absolutely agree with the hon. Gentleman that many of those trails provide excellent opportunities for walking, wheeling and cycling; indeed, I have spent many happy times cycling on the Tissington and Monsal trails in Derbyshire. We will continue to work through Active Travel England and with local authorities to encourage them to make great use of those greenways.

The disused part of the rail network is currently in the custody of National Highways. I absolutely agree with the hon. Gentleman that many of those trails provide excellent opportunities for walking, wheeling and cycling; indeed, I have spent many happy times cycling on the Tissington and Monsal trails in Derbyshire. We will continue to work through Active Travel England and with local authorities to encourage them to make great use of those greenways.

To ask His Majesty’s Government what support they are providing to increase the number of walking, wheeling and cycling paths across the country.

To ask His Majesty’s Government what support they are providing to increase the number of walking, wheeling and cycling paths across the country.

My Lords, in the spending review, the Government allocated £616 million for Active Travel England from 2026 to 2030 to support local authorities to build and maintain walking and cycling infrastructure. Revenue funding details will follow very soon. This is in addition to the almost £300 million for 2025-26 we announced in February, which included £30 million for the Walk Wheel Cycle Trust, formerly Sustrans, to deliver improvements to the national cycle network.

My Lords, in the spending review, the Government allocated £616 million for Active Travel England from 2026 to 2030 to support local authorities to build and maintain walking and cycling infrastructure. Revenue funding details will follow very soon. This is in addition to the almost £300 million for 2025-26 we announced in February, which included £30 million for the Walk Wheel Cycle Trust, formerly Sustrans, to deliver improvements to the national cycle network.

I welcome the Minister’s Answer, but can I push him, as part of the Government’s strategy development, to mandate public rights of way for walking, wheeling and cycling alongside new railway lines, as well as improving existing railway active travel routes, transforming more disused railway lines into public rights of way?

I welcome the Minister’s Answer, but can I push him, as part of the Government’s strategy development, to mandate public rights of way for walking, wheeling and cycling alongside new railway lines, as well as improving existing railway active travel routes, transforming more disused railway lines into public rights of way?

Local highway authorities are responsible for public rights of way and are required to keep a rights of way improvement plan. Where opportunities exist to bring historical routes into use for walking, wheeling or cycling, local authorities must decide how to integrate them into their active travel networks. The Government have announced their intention to remove the 2031 cut-off date for recording unregistered historic rights of way so that routes can continue to be identified, protected and enjoyed. I think the noble Baroness will know that, in respect of new railway lines and particularly HS2, there are plans to use the line of route for walking and cycling paths.

Local highway authorities are responsible for public rights of way and are required to keep a rights of way improvement plan. Where opportunities exist to bring historical routes into use for walking, wheeling or cycling, local authorities must decide how to integrate them into their active travel networks. The Government have announced their intention to remove the 2031 cut-off date for recording unregistered historic rights of way so that routes can continue to be identified, protected and enjoyed. I think the noble Baroness will know that, in respect of new railway lines and particularly HS2, there are plans to use the line of route for walking and cycling paths.

My Lords, in Holland, 55% of cyclists are women. In this country it is less than half that, at 25%, so what are the Government doing to encourage more women to enjoy the benefits of cycling?

My Lords, in Holland, 55% of cyclists are women. In this country it is less than half that, at 25%, so what are the Government doing to encourage more women to enjoy the benefits of cycling?

I hesitate to speak in front of such a well-known cyclist as the noble Lord. The answer to that question is to make cycling both more convenient and safer. There are a whole range of measures, including those set out in my two previous responses, to make cycling a more general feature. Of course, safety is a particular issue, which is

why investment is needed in making dedicated cycle paths and in cycling on the highways, which are both important. There are a whole range of measures, many of which will no doubt come up in the next eight minutes, about safety, the Highway Code and all those things, in order to get a much better gender balance in cycling, which the noble Lord is absolutely right to raise.

I hesitate to speak in front of such a well-known cyclist as the noble Lord. The answer to that question is to make cycling both more convenient and safer. There are a whole range of measures, including those set out in my two previous responses, to make cycling a more general feature. Of course, safety is a particular issue, which is

why investment is needed in making dedicated cycle paths and in cycling on the highways, which are both important. There are a whole range of measures, many of which will no doubt come up in the next eight minutes, about safety, the Highway Code and all those things, in order to get a much better gender balance in cycling, which the noble Lord is absolutely right to raise.

My Lords, while the Minister is on this subject, can he update the House on what action has been taken against cyclists who dangerously ride their bikes around the country, often causing damage to the general public?

My Lords, while the Minister is on this subject, can he update the House on what action has been taken against cyclists who dangerously ride their bikes around the country, often causing damage to the general public?

My noble friend will know that this is not the first time this subject has been raised in this House. A variety of actions need to be taken, including enforcement, which is of course the responsibility of chief police officers. But he will also note that, in the new Crime and Policing Bill, the Government are proposing new provisions intended to tackle the rare instances where a cyclist’s behaviour is so dangerous or careless that it results in the death or serious injury of another road user, and to treat that with the appropriate seriousness, in the same way as any other road user would be treated.

My noble friend will know that this is not the first time this subject has been raised in this House. A variety of actions need to be taken, including enforcement, which is of course the responsibility of chief police officers. But he will also note that, in the new Crime and Policing Bill, the Government are proposing new provisions intended to tackle the rare instances where a cyclist’s behaviour is so dangerous or careless that it results in the death or serious injury of another road user, and to treat that with the appropriate seriousness, in the same way as any other road user would be treated.

My Lords, is there a plan to put in new permitted development rights for cycle, wheel and walking routes? That could be done quite easily by changing existing regulations. Allowing these paths to go ahead is crucial for human health.

My Lords, is there a plan to put in new permitted development rights for cycle, wheel and walking routes? That could be done quite easily by changing existing regulations. Allowing these paths to go ahead is crucial for human health.

My Lords—

My Lords—

All too frequently, the noble Baroness, Lady Kramer, wants to answer the questions for me; she is very welcome to. The question about permitted development rights is, I think, a blind alley, but I will take some advice and write to the noble Baroness, Lady Jones, about it. What we are talking about is making this easy and economical to do. My Answer demonstrated that the Government are putting money into this activity for local transport authorities and giving them the opportunity to develop their plans. I will take some advice to see whether the noble Baroness’s suggestion is something that I should write to her about.

All too frequently, the noble Baroness, Lady Kramer, wants to answer the questions for me; she is very welcome to. The question about permitted development rights is, I think, a blind alley, but I will take some advice and write to the noble Baroness, Lady Jones, about it. What we are talking about is making this easy and economical to do. My Answer demonstrated that the Government are putting money into this activity for local transport authorities and giving them the opportunity to develop their plans. I will take some advice to see whether the noble Baroness’s suggestion is something that I should write to her about.

My Lords—

My Lords—

My Lords, can the Minister update us on the review of floating bus stops, which are truly democratic in that they are lethal for everybody?

My Lords, can the Minister update us on the review of floating bus stops, which are truly democratic in that they are lethal for everybody?