‘Get Britain Cycling’ Inquiry hears from first witnesses on Wednesday
The All Party Parliamentary Cycling Group will hear its first witnesses this Wednesday in an introductory session that will examine the aspirations for cycling in the UK. The Inquiry – which is backed by the major cycling organisations – will seek the views and experiences of organisations and individuals on how the government can help get more people cycling by making it safer and easier. The introductory session will be attended three panels of witnesses including:
British Cycling: Martin Gibbs
CTC: Roger Geffen
Cyclenation: Andre Curtis
Sustrans: Jason Torrance
Bicycle Association: Phillip Darnton
Transport for Quality of Life: Lynn Sloman
University of Westminster: Rachel Aldred
Bikebiz: Carlton Reid
The Guardian: Peter Walker
The Times: Kaya Burgess and Phillip Pank
The witnesses will present evidence on the ambition and resources needed to increase cycling levels in the UK, the need for cross-department co-ordination; infrastructure & behaviour measures, training and the role of the media.
The panel for the first session will be made up of Jim Fitzpatrick MP, Lord Hoffmann, Ian Austin MP, Julian Huppert MP, Sarah Wollaston MP and Steve Brine MP.
The session will be held at the House of Commons in Committee Room 13 between 9.30 and 11.30am. Witnesses and attendees will need to enter Parliament via the St Stephen’s entrance.
Co-chair of the All Party Group on Cycling, Ian Austin MP said: “We’re launching this inquiry to build on the momentum created by the Times’ brilliant campaign which has given cycling safety a higher priority than ever before. It’s great that all the political parties have expressed support for the campaign, but the time has come for the government to commit to real change in the way Britain’s transport system is run to make cycling safer and get more people on their bikes.”
Co-chair of the All Party Group on Cycling, Julian Huppert MP said: “We have made huge headway in getting the government to support this campaign to make our cities safer for cyclists, with action from the Cycling Minister – but we need more to happen. It’s time to turn Cameron’s commitment into a year-on-year budget so that when the cycling inquiry releases its findings they can be acted on quickly and efficiently. Every day that goes past without action is another day a rider could be seriously injured or killed. This is not a risk any of us wants to take.”
The Inquiry will look into the full range of issues affecting cycling in the UK, including road safety, urban design and how public transport and cycling can work together better. Further sessions will be held on the following dates:
23 January – Introductory session
30 January – Safety
06 February – Planning and design
13 February – Active lifestyles
27 February – The local perspective
06 March – Government
The Group will produce a report of the Inquiry’s findings, which will be presented to government in April 2013.
Notes:
The Inquiry is being funded by a donation from News International, in support of the long running campaign into safer cycling by The Times.