On 2 Septmber 2013 Rob participated in the Parliamentary debate on the recommendations of the All-Party Parliamentary Cycling Group’s (APPCG) report ‘Get Britain Cycling.’
The report, which was compiled following a six-week inquiry by the APPCG, ‘endorses the target of ’10 per cent of all journeys being made by bike by 2025, and 25 per cent by 2050.’ It also encourages the Government to show ‘strong political leadership’, manifested in an annual Cycling Action Plan and sustained funding for cycling.
The Coalition Government is already fully committed to getting more people cycling, and since February 2012 the Department for Transport has made an additional £159 million available for cycling infrastructure in England. The nature of this funding then allows local authorities to decide on and implement the solutions that best suit their localities.
Speaking in the debate, Rob supported the enthusiasm with which the Government continues to promote cycling, illustrating how Government funding has been allocated to local projects such as a new cycle bridge in Reading East. However Rob stressed that the Government can only do so much, and that the onus is now on the local authority to ensure that proposed cycling projects in the area are brought to fruition.
At the debate Rob said: “ The Government have put funds into a cycling bridge over the River Thames in my consitiuency, but the big problem is that the local authority does not join up the cycle networks. It thinks that simply putting white paint on the roads is enough to create safe cycleways, but that is not good enough.”
Rob later added: “This Government is taking the necessary action to encourage participation in a method of transport that is practical, affordable and beneficial to the health. If the Government’s determination to promote safe cycling can be replicated at a local Government level, then I believe we will start to see a greater uptake in both commuter and recreational cycling.”