Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the merits of setting a target for decreasing the number of fatalities and serious injuries per billion miles walked and cycled.

The Government recognises the importance of improving safety for people walking and cycling. On 12 June the Government published the third Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy (CWIS3) which outlines the Government's vision for walking, wheeling and cycling to be safe, easy and accessible choices for everyone. Over £4.5 billion is projected to be invested in active travel up to 2030 from a wide range of funding streams including £1.1 billion of funding for Active Travel England.

The Government has also set ambitious national road safety targets to reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured on Great Britain’s roads by 65% by 2035, and to reduce the number of children killed or seriously injured by 70% by 2035, both against a 2022 to 2024 baseline. These targets sit alongside the active travel safety performance indicator to monitor the rate of cyclists and pedestrians killed or seriously injured on England’s roads, measured as the number of fatalities and serious injuries per billion miles walked and cycled. The Department will actively monitor this indicator, which should help to assess whether active travel is becoming safer as more people walk and cycle.