Sustainable Transport

I understand my hon. Friend’s point. I am more comfortable allowing train operating companies to make their own operational decisions about where cycle parking is best placed. I have nowhere near the depth of knowledge that First Capital Connect does, for example, about the level of demand for cycle parking at any of its stations. I accept that my hon. Friend’s concern is genuine. My hon. Friend asked about the HLOS—the high level output specification, for the uninitiated—which will be announced in July. The HLOS is specifically about high level outputs, so it will not talk in detail about policy to support the amount of money that the Government will spend over 2008-14. However, alongside the HLOS we will publish a 30-year rail strategy, which will discuss some of the issues about rail and cycle integration about which my hon. Friend is concerned. My hon. Friend the Member for City of York (Hugh Bayley) talked about the design of new rolling stock, and of course the Department is involved in the design and delivery of the new inter-city express programme. It is at a very early stage at this point, but I will take what he has said back with me. He talked about bikes on buses, and I am afraid that I will not be able to illuminate him very much on that point. I am delighted that the bus driver was able to bend the rules—I suspect that he was bending the bus at the same time. My hon. Friend mentioned that he had been at the theatre, and I am intrigued to know which theatres in central London have bike parking. That seems an excellent innovation. The hon. Member for Rochdale inadvertently misinterpreted the comments of the right hon. Member for North-West Hampshire, I think. I do not think that the right hon. Gentleman suggested that in 32 years nothing has changed, which is what the hon. Gentleman thought that he said. I am sure that the right hon. Gentleman was being far more post-ironic. The hon. Gentleman suggested, as other hon. Members have, a uniform policy on cycling. My hon. Friend the Member for Battersea suggested the same thing. We have 20 or more rolling stock companies, a number of different types of rolling stock—inter-city, commuter and everything in between—different capacity challenges at different parts of the network and different areas are served, whether they are urban, suburban or rural. It would therefore be incredibly difficult, even if the Government were so-minded, to impose a standard access policy for cycle-rail integration throughout the network. I shall have to disappoint colleagues from both sides of the House—the Government do not plan to enforce a uniform policy—