Departmental Staff (Bicycles)

Hywel Williams
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what tax efficient schemes for the purchase of bicycles his Department makes available to its employees; how many and what percentage of his Department's staff purchased bicycles through such schemes in 2005-06; whether the schemes are available through a range of suppliers; and whether arrangements are made to enable staff with disabilities to purchase adapted bicycles from a specialist supplier.

Mrs. McGuire
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) offers employees an interest-free advance if they wish to purchase a bicycle. Cycle racks are provided at sites where we have parking. We also offer lockers and showers where possible and where the building allows.

The Department has no current plans to implement the cycle to work tax incentive scheme. As the Department cannot reclaim VAT, the tax savings are more limited than they would be for other employers, and the scheme is therefore not as attractive to our employees. Based on the low take-up of our existing scheme, we do not believe that the tax incentive scheme would be widely used. We will, however, keep the position under review.