4. Will the First Minister make a statement on cyclist safety in Wales? OAQ51337

For 2017-18, we've allocated £592,102 to local authorities to deliver cycle training to approximately 15,000 people. We'll also be working with the Department for Transport to review the national standards for cycle training over the next few months.

First Minister, it's Road Safety Week this week, and I think we would commend all measures to road safety. We also, in South Wales Central, unfortunately, have to reflect on two fatal accidents in October, and we send our condolences to the families of the victims.

I just wonder if it is now time for a much more integrated and ambitious approach to these matters, along the lines we see in the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark, where you have 20 mph zones in urban areas in much greater use, clearer designation of off-road and on-road bicycle paths and priority traffic signals in key places. We really need to have a joined-up approach to this important matter.

I agree. One of the incidents he refers to happened not very long before I was travelling along the same road, at the same time, but I didn't see it. It's right to say that great care needs to be taken when cyclists and cars use the same road. It's important that cars, of course, which have a primary responsibility, to my mind, consider the safety of cyclists, and that is something, of course, for all drivers.

That said—and I've said this before in the Chamber—I think it is important that if we're going to encourage more people to cycle, there will always be people who are too nervous to cycle in traffic. There are some who are not, but others will say, 'Well, I would like to cycle more, but I'm not keen on mixing with cars on the road.' That's why it's important, of course, to provide dedicated cycle lanes. How do we do that? We have the Active Travel (Wales) Act 2013, of course, and the Cabinet Secretary does fund active travel infrastructure through his own schemes and by making funding available to local authorities. The active travel design guidance provides clear standards that infrastructure must meet, and this winter we will be updating the guidance to incorporate emerging best practice. I understand that the Cabinet Secretary will be making an announcement soon on the funding call on the local transport fund for the coming financial year.

I'm delighted to hear that you've mentioned the exemplary design guidance that the Welsh Government issued along with the Active Travel (Wales) Act 2013, because obviously it's been lauded by the Westminster Government as fit for purpose across Britain. And so we've got this excellent design guidance, but what monitoring has the Welsh Government done of how much attention local authorities are paying to the design guidance when they're delivering the active travel plans that they need to deliver in order to address some of the issues that David Melding's raised around combatting the levels of accidents that happen, particularly at junctions?

Well, local authorities must comply with the law, of course. But as part of the updating of the guidance that will take place, then as part of that guidance we'll have cognisance of what has been happening around Wales in order for the guidance to be strengthened, if it is the case that there are problems in some parts of Wales. The Member is absolutely right to say that we have the Act in place, but it is hugely important that the Act is observed, and there's still a great deal of scope in many of our city and town centres to do more when it comes to cycle lanes particularly, and that is something that we will be considering as part of the updating of the guidance.

There are issues of cyclist safety, as have been raised by the last two Members, and we do need to make steps to encourage safe cycling. Unfortunately, when cyclists come off the road and onto the pavement, they can also become a danger to pedestrians. In Peterborough, the council are currently issuing PSPO notices, which are public space protection orders, to stop dangerous cyclists. One thousand cyclists have been fined in three months. We do have powers to issue PSPOs in Wales as well, so should we encourage Welsh councils to use similar notices to tackle the growing problem of dangerous cycling?

Well, this is something I know that the UK Government is considering. The current law that deals with dangerous cycling is a law that dates back to the furious driving of horses and carts in Victorian times, which has not been updated, although a prosecution was successful, of course, along those lines. I do get concerned. I think, first of all, it's important for us to understand that, just like most drivers, most cyclists are responsible cyclists, who are well-illuminated as well at night. But I've seen cyclists on pavements, I've seen people cycling at night with no lights and they're invisible, frankly. There's literally nothing on them that'll identify them to cars. But they are a minority. So, I think what is hugely important is that we continue to emphasise that for cyclists' own safety, it's massively important that they have lights on at night, they don't wear entirely dark clothing so they can't be seen, for their own safety and of course to enable cars to see them. But we are talking about a small minority of people. There is a duty on car drivers, obviously, to consider the safety of cyclists, but it is important as well that cyclists take steps to ensure that they can be seen.