Councils spend millions of taxpayers’ money on adult cycle lessons
Labour-run councils among the biggest spenders on cycle lessons - JOHN RENSTEN/THE IMAGE BANK RF
Councils have spent millions of pounds of taxpayer’s cash teaching adults how to ride a bike, it is revealed.
More than £2 million has been spent by local authorities across the UK laying on free cycle lessons for adults in the last three financial years, analysis shows.
The TaxPayers’ Alliance (TPA), which compiled the figures, has called on council bosses to scrap the “blatantly frivolous schemes” and focus on priority services.
Out of the 403 local authorities asked under the Freedom of Information Act if they offered free adult cycling lessons, 88 confirmed that they had provided over 31,000 lessons at a total cost of £2,025,939.43.
Labour-run councils were among the biggest spenders, with Wigan (£176,291), Lambeth (£145,619), Redbridge (£124,202) and Plymouth (£123,802) in the top five authorities that spent the most money between 2021 and 2024.
The City of Edinburgh council spent the most, forking out £415,000 of taxpayers’ cash on cycle lessons in three years.
‘Strayed off the beaten track’
Joanna Marchong, the investigations campaign manager of the TPA said: “Taxpayers will see this as a confirmation that, once again, their council has strayed off the beaten track.
“Townhalls have gone around in circles to make excuses for their debt, cuts to services and council tax hikes whilst spending millions to provide low-priority services.
“Councils must scrap these blatantly frivolous schemes and focus on providing frontline services for struggling households.”
The TPA sent Freedom of Information (FOI) requests to 403 councils in the UK, with 248 responding in some form.
The request asked if they offered free adult cycling lessons, how much they cost to run, how many bikes were purchased, how many materials were stolen and how many people attended and missed lessons between 2021 and 2024.
Lambeth had the most people miss sessions they signed up for (263), while Redbridge (126), Conwy (126) and Southwark (101) round off the top four.
Councils also had bikes stolen and damaged at the expense of the taxpayer. Six were stolen in Wokingham, four in Camden and four in Barking and Dagenham.
Cash-strapped scramble
The figures come after The Telegraph reported Britain’s councils are preparing a record £1.4 billion fire sale in assets and cancelled investments as they scramble to plug a debt black hole ahead of the election.
The Government has given 18 councils the green light to sell off assets and mothball projects to release cash in a bid to avoid another wave of council bankruptcies before the nation heads to the polls on July 4.
In total, across 2024/25, councils will be allowed to release £1.4 billion of their capital resources via land and property sales, redirecting their budgets, delaying maintenance spending and stopping other projects.
This will be 19 times the total given the go ahead in 2018/19, with prices adjusted for inflation to today’s prices
Cycling benefits
Claire Holland, the transport spokesperson for the local government association, said: “Encouraging more people to cycle has several benefits, including reducing traffic congestion, improving health and air quality as well as reducing carbon emissions.
“Alongside new and improved cycling infrastructure, investment in training can help accelerate an increase in active travel rates.
“Councils always want to ensure they make the best use of all funding and specific central government grants, such as those provided through Active Travel England.”
A Wigan council spokesperson said: “We provide cycling lessons as part of our Be Well health and wellbeing offer. They are partly funded through organisations such as Sport England and the GM Mayor’s Challenge Fund (MCF).
“These popular schemes encourage residents across our borough to live healthier lifestyles while also promoting road safety.”
Council investments
A spokesman from the Conwy council’s leisure development service said: “Over a number of years, Conwy County Borough Council has carried out pilot studies to engage different groups to take up cycling. Following these studies, steps were taken to engage with adult groups with weight management difficulties and domestic abuse sufferers.
“It showed that the groups were gaining both health and social benefits. Health benefits from accessing the outdoors more often, and social benefits from meeting people and making new friendships – for older people in particular when considering social isolation. Working with the wellbeing team we were able to engage with people from 20-93 years of age at once.
“1,375 attendees have taken part in the 199 sessions since April 2021. A very small number of people booked onto a session but did not turn up, so we’d urge everyone to remember to cancel in advance if they know they can’t make it, so that someone else can take their place.
“Grant funding from Social Care Fund and Sports Wales has helped pay for the kit, and funding from Railway Partnership Grant has contributed to running the sessions.”
A Redbridge council spokesman said: “Adult cycle training sessions in Redbridge were funded by Transport for London, not by Redbridge Council. This funding covered instructors, the booking system, and loan bikes where required.
“Cycle training has been popular in Redbridge and feedback has been very positive. Participants have become safer and more confident cyclists, which can lead to improved health and wellbeing, and reduce future pressures on our public health system.”
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