QUESTION 1 TRANSPORT
Near-live transcript. Not the official record.
Automatic speech recognition of this debate. Verify wording against the official report in Hansard before quoting. When Hansard publishes, about three hours after the House rises, the text below is replaced by the official record.
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We'll sit at the table while Tomknow the whole House will join me in thanking you for your service, wishing you all the very best in the future. And for those who don't know,Tom knows every Carey On character. He knows every Carey On
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So what I will say is, carry on, Clam. We now come to
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The government add our wishes to Tom on his final day.permission Mr Speaker
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Question 18. The Government recognizes the importance of promoting active travel.On the 12th of June we published the third cycling and walking investment strategy which sets out our R&Dtargets for acts of travel in England. The strategy is supported by over £4.5 billion of projected investment through
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Baroness Parr visited Portugal with the
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Well, can I first of all agree with my hon. Friend that the Tour de France is an amazing opportunity to inspire more people to walk and cycle, and what aconstituency for them to appear in. Active travel of course is a devolved matter, but officials from the Department fortransport and Transport Scotland do meet regularly to discuss active travel, most recently in September, and I want to pay tribute to the work of Portobello High School. Cycling is a fantastic way to get
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investing 125 million pounds in schemes such as bikeabilitytraining with over half a million children receiving training each year. Alongside this, we are supporting delivery of safer networks, enablingto walk, wheel and cycle to school, so I will look into seeing whether we can visit to enjoy some of the benefits of these schemes
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and and indeed
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I think we can all agree that cycling and e-bikes do play a very important role in active travel. However,
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So many Members on this side of the House have become very concerned about illegal e-bikes that do not meet the
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of an electrically assisted pedal cycle, and it's doing great damage to the reputation of cycling. So, will the Minister meet with me and other memberson this side of the House to discuss a ban on the sale of illegal e-bikes so that we can actually focus on the positives of cycling in the Tour de France here.
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Well, can I first of all congratulate my hon. Friend on the news that the Tour de France is opening stages will be finishing in Carlisle next year and I hope that she will be claiming the yellow jersey.at at that point. But, Mr Speaker, she makes a a very important point. I think hon. Members on all sides of this House are concerned
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illegal e-bikes and they, to be clear, have no place on our roads. It is far too easy at the moment for retailers to put in the
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how we tackle this issue as a government, including through the newly established cross-government ministerial group on this issue and thetime I'll be writing to retailers and online marketplaces to remind them of their responsibilities on marketing these products responsibly.Of course, I'm happy to meet my hon. Friend and other interested members on this subject. Sir Roger Gale.Thank you, Mr Speaker. Mr Speaker,
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First associate myself with your remarks relating to the sad loss of Sue Holt.
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During my time as the Leader of the Parliamentary Assembly ofChancellor of Europe
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I found Sue to be always there, always cheerful, always
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as did the whole of the delegation that I was privileged to
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We shall miss her dreadfully.
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And while also supporting your remarks, Mr Speaker, could I
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that during my time as an Acting Deputy Speaker, I leant very heavily on the wise advice of Tom Goldsmith.And I wish him I wish him every happiness in whatever he chooses to do next.
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Mr Speaker
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and cycling in particular.
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But there is a downside.
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has led to a clear growth in the number of cycling offences.
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the growth in the number of cyclists
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on pavementscyclists crashing through red traffic lights
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cyclists cycling at night without lights at all
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Does the Minister have any information about prosecution relating to these offences?
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Minister.
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I think the right hon. Member raises some very important points. I think we've all seen irresponsible cycling, but let's be
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Cycling on pavements is an offence, except where it's permitted and police can take action and do take action.
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careless or dangerous cycling, as he will know the Criminal Justice Act 2026 introduced new offences covering death or serious injury caused by dangerous, careless
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inconsiderate cycling and we've alsorecently written to food delivery companies emphasizing the need for them to ensure
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riders are acting legally and responsibly when undertaking their duties, but I understand what the hon. Member is saying and IWe'll certainly look at that further.
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Thank you, Mr Speaker. Can I also associate myself with your remarks regarding the outgoing Clark of the House, Tom Goldsmith? I spent many an hour sitting in
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an important part of active travel. In my constituency of Chelmsford, we have a
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which are being owned actually for
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e-scooters, and that's fabulous, but unfortunately it means it's also led to a rise in illegal e-scooters. The Essex police, when I met with them recently,
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Purposes of the cross-departmental working group is to work with Home Office officials and
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what the limitations are on police actions and see whether we can find new and novel methods of actuallyon this issue, so any information that she's got from her local constabulary we'd be very grateful to receive it.
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Mr Speaker, Minister.
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Clark of the House a very happy retirement.
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Mr Speaker, the government has been warned by over 290 organisations that its guidance on danger
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floating bus stops puts visually impaired people, deaf people, and people with mobility issues at risk.
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So will the Minister acknowledge that cycling and active travel infrastructure must not come at the expense of disabled people's safety, and
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Can we be absolutely clear that this department does not compromise the safety of anyone when they're crossing the road?The department actually published statutory guidance on the provision and design of floating bus stops with Active Travel England in January of this year, and all traffic authorities must have regardto this guidance. It does actually provide very clear advice on floating bus stops to design them in the in the mind of passengers.pedestrians so actually the most concerning and and and troublesome of these floating bus stops are actuallyno longer being built, but we are continuing to work on this and we absolutely understand the concerns and we're absolutely determined
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to deal with this.
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Can I ask the Minister, he's talked about this cross-government working group, but will he commit to creating an action plan based on that to tacklethe issue with clear timescales and owners if he did
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he would have our support.
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Well, I can assure the opposition spokesperson that there is already an action plan. There are a number of
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