Cycling gives economy £3bn boost

22 August 2011 Last updated at 04:02 GMT There are now estimated to be about 13m people who cycle in the UK Cycling generates nearly £3bn a year for the UK economy, a report by the London School of Economics has found.

The figure takes into account factors such as bicycle manufacturing, retail and cycle-related employment.

The report says £51m was raised for UK manufacturers from the 3.7 million cycles sold in 2010 - a rise of 28% on the number of cycles sold in 2009

More than a million people also started cycling last year, bringing the total number of cyclists to 13 million.

Last year more than £1.5bn was spent on bikes and another £850m on accessories, with the LSE estimating that the cycling industry is now worth some £2.9bn a year.

There are now 23,000 people working in cycling, contributing more than £600m to the economy in wages and taxes.

The report also says rising fuel costs, improved cycle networks, concern for the environment, and the pull of the Olympics are all possible factors for the increase in popularity for cycling.

Fewer sick days

And it says a 20% increase in cycling levels by 2015 could save millions of pounds in reduced congestion, pollution levels and NHS costs.

The report says that regular cyclists take 7.4 sick days per year, compared with 8.7 sick days for non-cyclists, saving around £128m through reduced absenteeism, with projected savings of £2bn over the next 10 years.

Dr Alexander Grous, of the LSE, who conducted the research, said: "The good news is that structural, economic, social and health factors seem finally to have created a true step-change in the UK's cycling scene."

Stewart Kellett, of British Cycling which is the governing body of UK cycle sport, said: "This report is further evidence that when more people get involved in cycling there are measurable benefits to the individual, their family, their employer, the environment and the economy as whole."

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Tax receipts boost state finances

22 February 2011 Last updated at 10:32 GMT January's surplus was larger than expected The UK's public accounts were in surplus in January after a strong rise in income tax receipts.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported the public sector net borrowing measure had a surplus of £3.735bn, higher than expected and the largest surplus since July 2008.

January is traditionally a month in which a surplus is recorded, as a range of income tax bills fall due.

However, a deficit of £1.266bn was recorded in January last year.

Total public borrowing for the year to date now stands at £113bn, £14.1bn lower than at the same point last year.

January's surplus is expected to help the government meet its target for borrowing for the financial year to March 2011 of £148.5bn.

To help cut the deficit the government is cutting public spending and raising some taxes, including last month's rise in the VAT rate from 17.5% to 20%.

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It is a peculiar feature of the current political debate that ministers are keen to talk down any sign that the public finances are stronger than we might have thought, but equally keen to talk down signs of weakness in the economy. ”

End Quote Stephanie Flanders Economics editor, BBC News The plan has the approval of the US Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geithner, who told the BBC in an interview that he was "very impressed" with the plan to reduce the budget deficit.

'Key month'

Ross Walker, of RBS Financial Markets, called the latest borrowing figures "a good set of data".

"January is a key month, you get major income tax and corporation tax inflows and they seem to be robust," he said.

"Public spending growth is also moderating so both sides of the public sector ledger are moving in the right direction, all of which leaves them comfortably on track to meet their full-year forecasts set out in the emergency budget".

In a statement, a Treasury spokesman said: "It's welcome that this January saw the first surplus for the public finances in two years, but it will take more than one month in surplus to deal with borrowing of almost £150bn pounds for this financial year."

The BBC's economics editor, Stephanie Flanders points out that there is still plenty that could go wrong, with January's figure distorted by one-off changes in the timing of self-assessment payments, which will unwind next month.

She adds that there are other major factors that are prone to revision.

But she says that it is likely that borrowing will be lower than the government has estimated, although it is trying to avoid raising expectations by playing down the possibility of a good number.

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