As part of Bike Week in June, the government published new guidance on the Cycle to Work scheme, which will benefit Disabled cyclists by making it easier for employers to provide cycles and e-cycles worth over £1,000.

The scheme, which has been in existence for 20 years, works by allowing employees to save money on a new cycle or accessories via a ‘salary sacrifice’ agreement. To date, it has supported more than 1.5 million people to commute to work by cycle and involved over 40,000 employers.

Wheels for Wellbeing has been campaigning for years to reduce the financial barriers to cycling faced by many Disabled people, including the fact that non-standard cycles can be prohibitively expensive and difficult to obtain under hire and loan schemes. As part of this, we had called on the government to review and refresh its Cycle to Work guidance to allow more Disabled cyclists to access the scheme, which was understood to have a cap of £1,000.

Now, under the new guidance, it will be easier for employers to provide non-standard cycles and e-cycles worth over £1,000, by making it clear that third party providers authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) are able to run the scheme on their behalf.

We’re delighted that the government has taken on board our recommendations, adding clarity to the scheme and opening it up to more Disabled employees. This is a big step towards transforming the UK into a truly inclusive cycling nation.