WIREDGOV

More than 300,000 school children will learn to cycle safely, competently and confidently on the road over the next year, thanks to nearly £11m worth of government funding allocated today, Norman Baker has announced.

Funding has been allocated to local highway authorities and schools across the country for the national Bikeability scheme which provides cycling proficiency for the 21st century.

As well as the £11m of grants agreed for this year, a further £24m will be allocated by the Department for Transport over the following two years. This includes an extra £2m to support expansion of the scheme on top of money originally earmarked for Bikeability. Additional local contributions worth around £11.5m are expected over the next three years.

Local Transport Minister Norman Baker said:

“Cycling brings many benefits, and as a government we are keen to encourage its uptake as a healthy and sustainable transport choice, which eases congestion and helps cut carbon.

“It is vital that the next generation of cyclists is well prepared with the skills and confidence to ride safely and well on modern roads and this funding ensures that many more thousands of children will receive the solid grounding to set them up as lifelong cyclists.”

Big winners this year include Merseytravel who are receiving over £400,000, Hampshire, where children will benefit from almost £500,000 worth of training, Staffordshire receiving more than £350,000 and Kent, where total funding is over £380,000.

The Department has also published a report looking at the number of children cycling to school since the introduction of the Bikeability scheme five years ago. In March the scheme celebrated five years of delivering training for children in schools.

This report shows that where there is a longer history of delivering cycle training, a higher proportion of children are cycling to secondary school. Further, those authorities that have received higher levels of Bikeability funding have seen larger increases in cycling to secondary school.

Notes to Editors

1. A total of £10,977,936 has been allocated by the Department to those delivering Bikeability training in 2012/13. A full breakdown of the allocations by Local Authority and school can be found here: http://content.bikeability.org.uk/publications/ 2. Funding was allocated according to bids received from Local Highways Authorities and schools qualifying as School Games Organiser Host Schools. 3. £11m has been allocated in each of the years 2013/14 and 2014/15. An additional £2m will be shared between these two years to support expansion of the scheme; approximately £700,000 in 2013/14 and £1.3m in 2014/15. 4. The full cycling to school report can be found here: http://www.dft.gov.uk/bikeability/wp-content/uploads/120320_Cycling_to_School_Bikeability_Data_Report_v_final.pdf Press Enquiries: 020 7944 3066Out of Hours: 020 7944 4292Public Enquiries: 0300 330 3000Department for Transport Website: http://www.dft.gov.ukwww.twitter.com/transportgovuk | www.youtube.com/transportgovuk | www.flickr.com/transportgovuk

Contacts:

DfT Press Office - Local Transport
Phone: DfT Press Office 020 7944 3066
nds.dft@coi.gsi.gov.uk