Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the National Cycle Network in providing opportunities for active travel in rural areas; and if he will make a statement.

The Department for Transport provided funding to Sustrans in 2018 to assess the quality, safety, and accessibility of the National Cycle Network (NCN), including in rural areas. The findings were published in Sustrans’ Paths for Everyone report and were used by Sustrans to prioritise the schemes it put forward for Departmental funding. Over £75 million has been provided by the Department to upgrade the NCN since 2018. A progress update was published by Sustrans in 2021.