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Get Britain Cycling report secures Parliamentary debate in September

Findings of six-week inquiry to be debated in House of Commons on 2 September

The Get Britain Cycling report will be debated in the main chamber of the House of Commons on 2 September 2013, it has been confirmed.

Confirmation a debate wll be held comes a little more than three weeks after Dr Julian Huppert, co-chair of the All Party Parliamentary Cycling Group (APPCG), which held the six-week inquiry earlier this year that culminated in publication of the report in April, was told the Backbench Business Committee was "supportive" of his request for a debate on the issue.

At that point, around 70,000 people had signed a petition asking for the report to be debated in Parliament - still 30,000 short of the 100,000 signatures that would have been required for the Backbench Business Committee to consider whether a debate should be held.

The lobbying by Dr Huppert, MP for Cambridge, reneders the petition academic, although it does show the strength of support for the report's recommendations.

The report calls for:

• 10 per cent of all journeys to be made by bicycle by bicycle by 2025 rising to 25 per cent by 2050

• Government funding for cycling should start at a minimum of £10 per head

• Cycling should be considered at an earlier stage in all planning decisions, whether transport schemes or new houses or businesses

• More use should be made of segregated cycle lanes, learning from the Dutch experience

• Urban speed limits should generally be reduced to 20 mph

• Just as children learn to swim at school, they should learn to ride a bike

• The Government should produce a detailed cross-departmental Cycling Action Plan, with annual progress reports.

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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4 comments

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banzicyclist2 | 10 years ago
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Step one, sort out road safety by mandating appropriate sentancing for motorist who cause death and injury. For starters a fixed driving ban (3 years minimum) for careless / dangerous driving that leads to serious injuries; and life time ban for those who have killed due to careless/dangerous driving.

Also remove the notion that accidents are inevitable, accidents are by definition preventable.

Make the above mandated guidance in the courts, so the era of getting away with it comes to an abrupt end. A driving licence should never be considered a right, drivers should be under no doubt if they behave badly and endanger others (not just cyclists) their driving licence can and will be taken away.

And the old chestnut of "l need my driving licence for my job!" Should never count as mitigation when found guilty of bad driving.  14

Come you politicians grow some balls and actually do something positive for a change instead of endless, pointless, and ultimately worthless debait!.

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hoppo100 | 10 years ago
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 16 Light at the end of the tunnel

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mrmo | 10 years ago
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so who will be the first MPs to mention helmets, Red Light Jumpers, Riding on Pavements. I feel a game of bullshit bingo coming on....

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jasecd | 10 years ago
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Excellent. Lot's of obstacles still to overcome but this is a step in the right direction.

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