The founder of an award-nominated Cumbrian cycling consumer-help website has written to the Chancellor following rumours of a major change to the government’s Cycle to Work scheme.
Karen Gee, founder of Cycle Sprog, has asked Chancellor Rachel Reeves to reconsider plans that could see a price cap soon introduced to the salary sacrifice scheme.
Ahead of the Budget later this month, The Financial Times reports that the Treasury could be considering plans to limit how much a worker could spend on a bicycle through the scheme.
In her emailed letter, Ms Gee, whose website specialises in helping families get into cycling, said she was ‘deeply concerned’ by such reports.
She highlighted that such a cap would ‘limit the eligibility’ of workers to purchase cargo bikes and adapted cycles – used by many families and individuals across the country.
A reputable cargo bike, for example, could cost around £3k, and although the exact potential price cap is unknown, any cap below that figure would restrict families from purchasing such bicycles.
Cargo bikes, Ms Gee said, are ‘helping families ditch cars’, which helps street safety, brings health benefits, and, ultimately, lowers emissions.
In her letter to Ms Reeves, the founder also noted that she was ‘disappointed’ that the rumoured cap directly contradicts the recommendations of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Cycling and Walking (APPGCW).
Cycle Sprog contributed to the APPG.
The APPGCW’s first recommendation was regarding reducing financial barriers to cycling.
It recommended reforming the Cycle to Work Scheme and turning it into a ‘Cycle for Health’ scheme instead – helping individuals on low incomes.
Ms Gee's letter, ultimately, urges the Chancellor to ‘ensure that cargo bikes and adapted bikes (i.e. recumbents, tricycles, and tandems) are explicitly excluded from any cap’.
This is so families and those with disabilities can still have access to the bicycles they need.
Share