Patrick McLoughlin MP

Secretary of State for Transport

Department for Transport

Great Minister House

33 Horseferry Road

London SW1P 4DR

Date: 2^nd December 2015

Dear Patrick,

Following the Spending Review, I’m writing on behalf of my constituents, to urge you to allocate significant funds from your overall departmental budget to walking and cycling.

My constituents have made the following points, which I endorse:

• The Government’s own manifesto commitments to double the number of journeys made by bicycle and to get 55% of primary school children walking to school by 2025. Earlier this year, you committed to a Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy - to double cycling and reverse the decline in children walking to school. Yet, with the cuts announced in the Spending Review, it’s very difficult to see how this will be achieved.

• Living Streets and Sustrans are calling for urgent investment; the Local Sustainable Transport Fund – currently the largest Government investment in walking and cycling – ends in March 2016. If nothing replaces it, funding for walking will drop dramatically from 50p to 10p per head and for cycling it will fall from £4 per head to below £1 per head. This is far below the £10 per head that Ministers have committed to spending.

• Investing in walking and cycling can show excellent benefits in terms of reducing traffic congestion and improving health outcomes. A recent independent study revealed that for every £1 invested in the walk to school programme £4.30 of social value across four outcomes for participating children was generated: improved health, increased confidence, greater independence, and improved social connections.

It is deeply irresponsible to allocate billions of taxpayers’ money to road building, whilst investment in walking and cycling remains woefully inadequate. Your Department’s own research has shown that building new roads does not tackle congestion nor is it good value for taxpayers’ money, compared with sustainable transport alternatives. Furthermore, major new road schemes destroy precious countryside and worsen air pollution. I urge you to redirect spending on road building into walking, cycling and public transport.

Thank you in advance for your response and I looking forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely,