Latest news with #CycletoWork
Telegraph
28-03-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Taxpayers must fund bikes for refugees and pensioners, MPs tell Labour
Taxpayers should fund bikes for refugees and pensioners, a group of MPs has told Labour. The All-Party Parliamentary Group for Cycling and Walking has called on the Government to 'reduce the financial barriers' which stop people getting on two wheels. The bizarre campaign wants the taxpayer-funded Cycle to Work scheme to be revised so that it caters to 'those who most need financial assistance' including retired households, refugees and those on low incomes. Under its current guise, employers offer staff the chance to buy a bike and accessories via salary sacrifice. The tax perk – which has been uncapped for the past six years – means employees reduce their income tax bills and National Insurance contributions, and get their hands on an expensive new bike. Critics argue the tax breaks only benefit higher earners, while those on low incomes are priced out of affording a bike on their own accord. Labour MP Fabian Hamilton, chairman of the parliamentary group, said Cycle to Work has 'done a great deal of good', but it now needs reshaping. He said: 'It mainly serves those in stable employment and brings about more savings to higher earners. 'What we need is a reformed approach that opens up the scheme to support people on lower incomes, freelance workers, disabled people who require adapted expensive cycles, and pensioners who aren't in work but could benefit greatly from the health benefits of cycling.' A report released by the parliamentary group suggests refugees should also benefit from a widened cycle support scheme. It reads: 'A decent cycle costs money – an e-cycle costs more, and adapted cycles cost more still. 'For the large proportions of the population who cannot store cycles inside their homes, the cost of secure storage can be prohibitive, which puts cycling out of reach for those on the lowest incomes, including refugees. Yet this is the group that could often benefit most from it.' It hails 'highly effective' Welcome Wheels projects which support refugees and asylum seekers with free second-hand bikes. The group of MPs has also urged the Government to subsidise e-bikes for low-income households in rural areas. Incentives should be brought in 'where distances can make using an unpowered cycle impractical', the report states. E-bike subsidies are relatively common in Europe, but France scrapped its scheme in February. In 2023 alone, the French state paid out €40m (£33.3bn) in subsidies, with grants ranging from €150 to €2,000. The parliamentary working group has also urged the Government to ramp up its efforts to combat pavement parking and cap the cost of renting a cycle hangar space. The group said the cost of a hangar space should not exceed a sixth of the cheapest parking permit in the same area. It also wants the Cycle to Work scheme to undergo a rebrand. Mr Hamilton said: 'The current name and structure no longer reflect the way people live and work. Many do not commute to a traditional workplace, and cycling has far wider benefits than just getting to the office. 'A Cycle for Health scheme could deliver savings to society by easing pressure on the NHS and improving public health. A fairer scheme focused on health and inclusion would better serve the public good.'
Telegraph
21-03-2025
- Automotive
- Telegraph
Rich cyclists are getting brand new bikes – courtesy of you, the taxpayer
The next time you see a Lycra-clad cyclist tearing through a red light, consider this: their hugely expensive bicycle was likely paid for by you, the taxpayer. Gordon Brown first introduced tax breaks on bikes in 1999 in an effort to get more of us to live a healthier lifestyle. On the face of it, it's a worthy scheme that has helped more than two million people become fitter by cycling to work. But it all changed six years ago when the £1,000 limit was scrapped – enabling anyone to get a discount of up to 42pc on any bike they like, whatever the price, all courtesy of the taxpayer. I'm convinced that the salary sacrifice scheme is now routinely abused by wealthy cyclists who have no intention of using their expensive gift from the taxpayer on their commute. Now, let's be clear. This isn't an anti-cyclist article. I own three bikes, none of which the taxpayer helped pay for. The world would be a better, and healthier place, if more of us rode bicycles. Cyclists should stick to road rules like anyone else, and any suggestion that cyclists should pay road tax is moronic. Roads are maintained using money from all taxes, and vehicle excise duty is levied on emissions. However, there are gaping holes in this tax break that mean your money is not being spent as it should be. The Cycle to Work scheme allows you to buy bikes and cycling gear tax-free. Companies offer the benefit and take the money for the cycling equipment from your pay before income tax and National Insurance are levied. Around 90pc of employers which offer the scheme now have no limit, meaning you can get all the expensive gear you like with a huge discount paid by the taxpayer. One provider, the Bike2Work Scheme, says the average value of bikes bought increased to £1,890 after the cap was lifted in 2019. The scheme is also effectively an interest-free loan as the total bill is paid off over monthly instalments. This tax perk should be reined in. Commuters simply do not need a bike worth more than £1,000. Electric bikes are more expensive, so perhaps there should be a separate cap for them. My commuter bike cost £300 and has saved me thousands in Tube fares. There can be no justification for asking the taxpayer to give a dentist earning £200,000 a £4,200 discount on a £10,000 bike. Since the cap was lifted six years ago, the scheme has been used by 1.2 million people, according to HM Revenue and Customs figures. The cost to taxpayers over that period was £615m. It is perhaps not a coincidence that there was a spike in demand for the scheme in the 2020-21 financial year when most of us were not going to work and had more leisure time in lockdown. I suspect Whitehall and the City are full of top earners who have exploited this scheme to buy an expensive bike that they would not dare to bring into London for fear of it being stolen. And there's no doubt that some have used it to drop their incomes below £100,000 so they can still continue to qualify for tax-free childcare. Yet the scheme excludes those on low incomes, or who are self-employed or unemployed. Cycling charity, Sustrans, has warned that two million people are unable to benefit. It's a good example of a policy that came with good intentions that has been allowed to mutate into something it was never supposed to be. Cycle to Work should not be scrapped, but ministers should consider if taxpayer cash should really be going towards fancy new toys for middle-aged men in Lycra earning six figures.
