Lilian Greenwood

I am delighted to recognise that fantastic work. Giving children the opportunity to walk, wheel or cycle to school is fundamental to their development and, as many people have said, builds good habits from an early age. When a quarter of children leaving primary school are overweight and 40% of primary school children are being driven to school, now is the time to provide healthier alternatives. A number of hon. Members talked about school streets. Active Travel England recently published guidance that will assist local authorities in planning, developing and implementing school streets. As a direct result of its funding, 180 school streets have been developed, and of course there are many more. They are a great opportunity, and the benefits speak for themselves: cleaner air, fewer cars, less congestion, improved physical and mental health, and of course safer roads. I would love to mention the school streets trial in Hackney, which has provided fantastic evidence; my hon. Friend the Member for Brentford and Isleworth (Ruth Cadbury), the Chair of the Select Committee, talked about the evidence from Hounslow, and we also heard about Ealing. Alongside school streets, Active Travel England is funding a wide range of support to enable more children to walk, wheel and cycle to school, including Bikeability cycle training, which I am keen to see, the Living Streets Walk to School outreach programme and Modeshift support for travel planning. I am conscious that I have run out of time. We have announced a further £300 million for active travel and we will set out plans for future years following the spending review. I had better sit down now, but I am sure there will be many more opportunities to discuss these vital issues in the days ahead. Question put and agreed to. Resolved, That this House has considered road safety and supporting active travel to school.