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19 Mar 2026

This one's sobering: 42% of small businesses reported a cyber breach in 2024, according to the National Cyber Security Centre. And it's not just massive corporations being targeted. It's small,...

19 Mar 2026

The Chancellor held a roundtable discussion on a future high street strategy last week, with Bira the sole voice representing smaller retail businesses. Read an update on Bira's place at a...

18 Mar 2026

An independent bike shop is refusing to sell or repair e-scooters over concerns about how they are being used, with the area’s police force backing the call and urging others to follow...

17 Mar 2026

Walking, wheeling and cycling across the Liverpool City Region are saving the NHS £53.8 million every year, according to the latest Walking and Cycling Index, with cycling playing a key...

13 Mar 2026

Findings from consumer rights publication Which? add to calls from the E-Bike Positive campaign to better scrutinise these sites and promote quality e-bikes from reputable manufacturers and...

6 Mar 2026

The Metropolitan Police have seized more than 50 illegal e-bikes during a two-day crackdown in London as part of a wider effort to tackle crime linked to illegally modified electric bikes.

5 Mar 2026

ACT parent company Bira has warned that the Chanellor's Spring Statement offered no new support for high street businesses, as rising tensions in the Middle East threaten to push up energy...

4 Mar 2026

The UK cycle industry were brought together at COREbike 2026, with retailers, distributors and industry partners gathering for several days of meetings, networking and product showcases.

3 Mar 2026

A Scottish bike repair shop and cafe has recently moved premises into a bigger unit thanks to a growth in business, with the local council noting the positive impact it would have on the local...

26 Feb 2026

Here's one that often surprises people: professional indemnity insurance. It's not just for lawyers and accountants. Joanna Evans, Head of Bikmo for Business, explains in the next installment of...

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New £18 million Bikeability funding coincides with Local Bike Shop Day aims

Posted on in Business News , Cycles News

TChildren cyclinghe DfT has announced £18 million for Bikeability cycling proficiency training scheme, which fits in well with Local Bike Shop Day's aims of encouraging children to cycle to school.

On 9th April Transport Secretary Grant Shapps announced £18 million for cycle training across the country to ensure children and their families have the confidence to choose active travel.

The funding, which is managed via the Bikeability Trust charity, will go toward delivering high-quality, practical on-road cycle training as a modern day equivalent of the ‘cycling proficiency' scheme many parents will themselves have undertaken during their school days.

This additional funding will kick-start Bikeability's plans to provide training to all children by 2025, giving the next generation of cyclists a life skill and the confidence they need to choose a more active way to travel.

More information about the DfT's funding plans can be found here.

The ACT are in full support of this latest announcement, and believe that it coincides perfectly with the aims of this year's Local Bike Shop Day.

Local Bike Shop Day is the one day a year when independent bike shops across the UK can come together to celebrate their distinctive culture. It's the day for local bike shops to showcase their passion, knowledge and personalised service they offer to their local communities.

This year's Local Bike Shop Day will be taking place on Saturday 28th August, falling at an ideal time to encourage children to cycle to school and to inspire the nation to continue cycling throughout autumn. Previous years have been hugely successful, with hundreds of bike shops getting involved and hundreds of thousands of consumers reached.

In order to encourage the nation to continue cycling it is important for the industry to work together to promote it where possible, Local Bike Shop Day and the Bikeability funding are another great step in this direction. If you are a bike dealer that has not yet signed up for Local Bike Shop Day 2021, please do so here.

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