I fundamentally agree that we should do what we can to ensure women feel equally safe cycling as men. The cost-effective approaches you mention, such as ensuring the changes to the Highway Code are properly communicated and enforced, and enabling organisations to set up secure bike storage facilities, are both sensible and intuitive suggestions.
We all recognise the many benefits of cycling. Therefore, we should do all we can to ensure that everyone, particularly women, can cycle safely. More broadly, the points you raise touch on wider challenges beyond cycling, including how public spaces are lit and the unacceptable harassment women face on our streets. I know that several of my colleagues have long advocated for stronger police enforcement in such cases, so that women's safety is prioritised.
With regard to funding, this is ultimately a matter for the Department for Transport and the Chancellor. To be transparent, allocating 10 per cent of the Department for Transport’s total budget to active travel each year seems unlikely. Based on figures from the 2024 Autumn Budget, this would amount to £3 billion in 2025–26.
Furthermore, in February 2025, the Government announced a cycling funding package that falls significantly short of this figure. In addition, the Spending Review set out £616 million for Active Travel England from 2026–27 to 2029–30. As such, it appears unlikely that the Government will commit to the level of investment you suggest. Any change to the current allocations would ultimately be a decision for the Government, to be weighed against the department’s other responsibilities. As I’m sure you recognise, this would also affect the feasibility of other, more costly changes.
