Cycling UK has accused the government of “airbrushing out any role for cycling in plans for a post-pandemic recovery” after Rishi Sunak’s Budget speech made no mention whatsoever of active travel.
Nor was there any mention of it, or cycling or walking, in the full budget document published by HM Treasury – other than a passing reference to “sustainable travel” in allocating an additional £1.3 million in funding to The Falkirk Growth Deal in Scotland for the next decade.
Sarah Mitchell, Cycling UK’s chief executive said: “It’s right that the Chancellor sets out his plans for the future wellbeing and prosperity of the nation, but his and the Treasury’s complete disregard for cycling’s role in this future is a complete failure to make good on this Government’s plans to build back better.”
In February last year, Sunak said the government said would invest £2 billion in cycling and walking in England over the next five years.
To date, however, only £250 million of that has been made available - £225 million for the emergency active travel fund, and £25 million for the Fix Your Bike voucher scheme, and Cycling UK says that only £257 million has been sent aside for 2021/22.
That has led Cycling UK to warn that unless current levels of spend are doubled, the government will miss fulfilling its own spending commitments – as well as its target of doubling levels of cycling by 2025.
The national cycling charity believes that in any event even the £2 billion pledged would be insufficient to meet that target, and that investment needs to be raised to between £6 billion and £8 billion.
“It’s impossible to have a ‘green recovery’ if we don’t actually invest in our future,” Mitchell said. “Investment in cycling costs very little compared to other essential transport infrastructure, but has a huge return on investment.
“If this really is a government which plans to invest in new infrastructure, and which aims to ‘keep our streets safe’ and ‘support the most vulnerable’ then investing in cycling and walking makes simple economic sense.
“Instead of this, we have a budget that is airbrushing out any role for cycling in its plans for a post-pandemic recovery,” she added.
Cycling UK also pointed out that figures from the Department for Health reveal that for every £1 spent on cycling infrastructure, HM Treasury benefits to the tune of £13 – around four times the return on investment of £3.70 per £1 associated with road bypass schemes.
Add new comment
9 comments
I suspect someone in their PR team has decided mentioning cycling risks upsetting a handful of opinionated journalists and Nigel Havers.
Well, that's rubbish
What a bl00dy surprise...![surprise surprise](/sites/all/themes/rcc/images/smilies/14.gif)
On my last ride, on the car park of a closed pub was an upmarket caravan doing brisk business selling hot drinks and "artisanal" sausage 'n egg butties, all served in eco-friendly compostable packaging. The entire circus was kept afloat by a throng of hungry cyclists, each one decked out in multiple hundreds of pounds worth (well, cost) of gear. Just one small snapshot of the economic activity stirred up by cycling in these forlorn times.
I am afraid this government says all the right things but rarely backs this with action. Air quality, CO2 emissions, active travel, immigration, tackling corruption etc etc. This is the time of year to start getting people on bikes with a chance of them staying on them through next winter. Good luck Cycling UK but I'm not holding my breath.
It's led by someone who is a habitual compulsive liar ("no irish sea border"). He has the dubious honour of being sacked for lying from two jobs - as a journalist and as a politician. And given those professions' relationship with the truth, you have to be a pretty big liar to get sacked for it.
And now Trump has retired, he's the biggest officlal liar in the world.
I have been waiting a while to post this.
Completely agree:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-56285239
They do not care, and yet still people believe in them.