Agenda item

To receive the report of the Assistant Director for Legal and Governance on any Notices of Motion received by him.

Councillors are asked to note that any Notices of Motion must be received by the Assistant Director for Legal and Governance no later than noon on 30 August 2022.

The Council had before it a Notice of Motion set out in the agenda papers standing in the names of Cllr Emma Stokes, Cllr Emma Marshall, Cllr Alan Amos and Cllr Bob Brookes.

The motion was moved by Cllr Emma Stokes and seconded by Cllr Emma Marshall who both spoke in favour of it.

In the ensuing debate, the following points were made:

·         This motion sought to deliver cycling competency and confidence to school children and teenagers, the family that is a bit “wobbly”, and e-cycle users. Cyclists needed to have the skills to be able to share road space with other road users because of the lack of protection afforded to them. Bikeability had reported that their level 3 proficiency scheme was not being taken up by some middle and high schools in the county. This was a matter that could be addressed with headteachers by the relevant Cabinet member. Bikeability training could give parents more confidence to allow their child to travel to school on a bike and thereby reducing traffic. In particular, this training would provide advice on how to access the more complex road junctions in the county

·         Bikeability Plus offered families the opportunity to learn together to build confidence, which in turn gave parents the confidence to allow their children to cycle to school and elsewhere and give them independence. It allowed families to create memories together and improve health. The introduction of a “try before you buy” scheme might encourage families to take up cycling more readily if they were worried about the investment commitment

·         The Cabinet Member with Responsibility for Communities endorsed all modes of transport of which cycling was an important element. The Council did have a Bikeability programme for school children but the number of instructors had reduced. This was due to recruitment issues which had resulted in double the number of placements but half the number of instructors. He undertook to investigate whether any funding could be made available for Bikeability for adults

·         Even with the provision of training, many people felt vulnerable cycling along the county’s busy roads. Alongside training, the county needed to improve the cycling infrastructure including more dedicated cycle routes and off-carriageway cycling

·         This motion built on the Government’s changes to the Highway Code to create a safer environment for cyclists on roads

·         There were many people who would wish to cycle but lived in areas where they had experienced incidents and lost confidence. Bikeability had a role in building that confidence back. It was particularly important to focus on dangerous junctions to make them safe for cyclists

·         The focus on Bikeability training for e-bike users was welcomed because different skills were needed

·         The introduction of cycle training should hopefully reduce the need for draconian action to be taken against dangerous cycling behaviour

·         Bikeability was important but only addressed a small part of the concerns of residents about cycling. The top three concerns being the lack of cycling infrastructure, the volume and speed of traffic, and the approach taken by other aggressive road users

·         The Cabinet Member for Health and Well-being welcomed the inclusion of adults as well as children in the Bikeability scheme as it fitted in with the Council’s health and well-being agenda

·         Other road-users should also receive advanced training to ensure roads were safer

·         Bikeability instructors were employed on zero-hour contracts and should be full-time employees in order to ensure this proposal was successful

·         The Cabinet Member with Responsibility for Highways and Transport commented that he would look at the possibility of introducing a “try before you buy” scheme. As a pro-active travel council, it was important to get proficiency training right to stimulate demand for cycling and the use of cycling facilities.

On being put to the vote, the motion was agreed unanimously.

RESOLVED “The Council currently engages 23 instructors to deliver Bikeability, the Department for Transport Flagship national cycling programme for school children, to an expected 5,000 plus Children in Worcestershire during 2022/2023.

Whilst Bikeability assists the delivery of cycling competency and confidence to school children, this Council supports Bikeability PLUS schemes for delivery of family Bikeability, and e-bikes to increase cycling competency in adults.

We all saw an increase in cycling during lockdown; confidently, but “a bit wobbly”, sharing the road space with other users and this should be encouraged post lockdown.

An increase in cycling proficiency and confidence will sit within the Council’s promise to improve mental health, wellbeing and physical heath and reduce car usage with associated carbon reduction benefits.

This Council, therefore, requests that the Cabinet Member(s) with Responsibility look at the allocation of some resource to ensure that this can be progressed.”