UK Bus Manufacturing

Tuesday 27th January 2026 Westminster Hall

09:30

[Euan Stainbank (Falkirk) (Lab)]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered UK bus manufacturing.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dr Murrison. I draw attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests and my role as co-chair of the all-party parliamentary group for British buses, alongside the hon. and learned Member for North Antrim (Jim Allister).

There were 694 more zero emission buses registered in Britain in 2025 compared with 2024, a 38% rise in the number on the road in one year. There were 167 fewer built in the United Kingdom in 2025 compared with 2024. When we need more zero emission buses, when operators and local authorities are buying more buses but there are fewer orders going to factories in Falkirk, Ballymena, Scarborough, Aldershot and across the country, we know there is a problem, and it did not start yesterday.

I applied for this debate, first and foremost, having been born and raised in a community that has seen immense benefit from the UK bus manufacturing industry. The goliath industrial site, which stretches across a large section of Glasgow Road in Camelon, has been the origin of Scottish-built buses for decades. A stone’s throw away is the sleek, relatively new modern site at Larbert, which hosts the global headquarters of Alexander Dennis. I had a welcome visit to Alexander Dennis’s “meet the fleet” exhibition last week for prospective bidders to Transport Scotland’s ScotZEB3 scheme. I tentatively await the outcome of that exercise and welcome Fiona Hyslop MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Transport, writing to me earlier this month to confirm when the announcement of successful bids is to be made. I hope for an objective outcome that supports Scottish manufacturing.

Members of Parliament will recognise the inherent pride when they spot something built in their community when out and about elsewhere in the country. When the Mayor of Greater Manchester’s fantastic Bee Network was launched, I was proud to note that there were more buses built by workers in Falkirk than from any other place in the world.

[Paul Waugh (Rochdale) (Lab/Co-op)]

My hon. Friend is making a powerful case. Mellor, a bus manufacturer in Rochdale, does a superb job of producing the buses that Greater Manchester needs. Andy Burnham was the first in more than 40 years to retake control of our bus network in Greater Manchester, showing that with a publicly controlled local bus network, we cannot only improve facilities for passengers but secure contracts for local workers and British-built buses. Does my hon. Friend agree that is the way forward, particularly when we are considering Chinese-built buses?

[Euan Stainbank]

Franchising is certainly an opportunity for our British bus manufacturing sector. I will speak later about procurement and the opportunities it presents for us to go even further, and potentially correct some of the examples that are not as great as the fantastic work done by the Mayor of Greater Manchester in that regard.

This debate is unlike the last one held in Westminster Hall prior to the election in 2024. This is not a debate about the virtues of the current push to decarbonise transport. It is an immutable fact that the shift in demand from both operators and public subsidy is towards cleaner and quieter transport. For the UK manufacturing sector, we need to recognise that the transition to zero emission buses and away from diesel is happening. A business selling horses and carts at the beginning of the 20th century could have continued to sell the carts and might have done well in the short term, but eventually, if it did not transition to automobiles, it would have gone out of business.

[Chris Vince (Harlow) (Lab/Co-op)]

I thank my hon. Friend for his powerful speech on a topic about which I know he is particularly passionate. He will be aware that Alexander Dennis has a base in my constituency of Harlow. Would he agree that the move towards zero emission buses is a massive opportunity to increase the skills base of our communities? We should welcome the opportunity that young people have in our constituencies to work on these revolutionary new vehicles.

[Euan Stainbank]

My hon. Friend goes to the heart of the issue we are debating today. This is an opportunity for our country to enable our manufacturers to compete within the market.

What British industry needs is not to see its renowned prowess for making diesel buses become a sentimental memory in communities such as Falkirk, but policy certainty and support to scale up and properly compete in the zero emissions market as we move towards the implementation of the ZEB mandate. International competitors have been able to scale up to meet the global market through state subsidy and clear procurement ambition. It is up to us to gather the political will to do the same, which I am sure we will hear articulated today.

Through both the mandate and voluntary targets for new registrations, operators are moving to prepare for new additions to their fleet to be fully zero emission by 2030, at the earliest. As that date approaches and diesel buses concurrently become a diminishing part of manufacturers’ order books, we must acknowledge that there is a short window before every new bus in the UK market will be zero emission. The year 2027, proposed by some during the passage of the Bus Services Act 2025 as the date for the ZEB mandate to come into operation, would, without thought, drastically narrow that window, and I was glad to see those amendments defeated.

However, the message we are hearing from our manufacturers is clear. If we now fail to get this right, we will not be talking about a British-led transition and we will not be talking just about a 35%, and rising, Chinese market share. We will be talking about transitioning to reliance on other places in the world to build the vehicles we need on our roads. We will be facing the reality of the long-term consequences of the price and security of supply being increasingly elsewhere and not here. We will have lost control.

That is why this debate is urgent. The Government, in my view, have the political temperament to deliver a new generation of British-built buses, and they have the proven ability to be bold on industrial policy, but too many missed chances by previous Governments and increasingly imminent deadlines for our industry mean that we need to be bolder. Sadly, taxpayer-funded schemes have contributed, rather than aiding a solution, to the problem of diminishing market share for UK manufacturers.

The initial ZEBRA—zero emission bus regional areas—scheme, touted proudly by Prime Minister Johnson’s Government, committed to 4,000 British-built buses by the end of the last Parliament. The scheme delivered just 2,270 buses, of which about 46% were built abroad. There was a material and harmful chasm between political rhetoric and delivery for UK manufacturers.

Scottish manufacturing fared worse recently in phase 2 of the Scottish Government’s zero emission bus challenge fund, the outcome of which was sending two thirds of ScotZEB2 orders to Yutong in China, while less than 20% went to Scottish manufacturers. That created an existential threat to 400 jobs and the Scottish bus manufacturing sector last year, with the First Minister being informed by the company in August 2024 that the outcome of the scheme appeared to show little regard for Scottish manufacturing, with unprecedented action being required in September to prevent the two factories from closing for good.

In addition, 130 jobs were lost in 2024, in part because of the aggravated issue of conditions being placed on Scottish Government funding, compelling adherence to advanced Fair Work First standards for employee remuneration, welfare and safety, while no such requirement was made of foreign manufacturers. I am all in favour of fair work standards being applied. The problem here is that they were not weighted in the procurement exercises, despite their being required only of British manufacturers. That created an unlevel playing field, tilted in the wrong direction.

We have heard testimonials to the origin of London’s public transport system in the labour of Scottish, English and Northern Irish workers, who now contend with, and are contradicted by, the rapidly increasing portions of Transport for London infrastructure coming from elsewhere in the world.

It does not have to be this way. For example, as my hon. Friend the Member for Rochdale (Paul Waugh) alluded to, the Greater Manchester and Liverpool City Region combined authorities, when franchising their bus networks, bought nationally. They chose to weight properly when buying buses, with procurement teams looking at what could be achieved when social value is appropriately weighted.

These successes and failures are largely down to how the schemes are set up. It seems entirely right to me that, because many are funded wholly with our constituents’ tax money, we should maximise the muscle of the state to make sure that as much of it as possible ends up benefiting our constituents, within the limits of our World Trade Organisation obligations.

[Lee Pitcher (Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme) (Lab)]

In the Doncaster East part of my constituency, franchising kicks in next year. At the moment, routes are about profits, not the people who use them. With this being about buying British buses, I think we have an amazing opportunity also to think about accessibility on our buses and to make sure we are also thinking about people who have disabilities or need extra help when we build our British buses.

[Euan Stainbank]

For Members of Parliament, accessibility on our public transport network is always a key factor. At the “meet the fleet” exhibition, I was glad to see some of the new models coming out from Alexander Dennis—hopefully to be built at the Larbert and Camelon sites—which will provide greater accessibility for customers. It is important for all bus manufacturers to make that feature a key selling point when they are going out to the country.

Other countries have been able to do this and follow WTO or even EU free trade obligations. The German Government have recently started enforcing a 50% rule for contract value in procurement from the EU or countries with a free trade agreement, putting a cap on market growth of foreign competitors and, in practice, protecting jobs in the German automotive industry. The US’s Build America, Buy America scheme, introduced by the Biden Administration, mandates 70% local content for all rolling stock, and final assembly in the USA. Canada, while engaged in several free trade agreements, has introduced a Buy Canadian procurement policy framework that prioritises domestic industries.

If other countries can do it, so can we. When I have put to the Government the case for greater policy support for UK manufacturers, the very welcome forum of the UK Bus Manufacturing Expert Panel and the 10-year bus pipeline are often cited as the answer. The panel and the imminent 10-year pipeline will offer welcome certainty about the volume and source of upcoming demand, but we need alignment of policy to support our industry or we are in danger of providing just as much certainty to foreign competitors as to our own manufacturers.

The Government’s recent consultation on procurement reform is very welcome. I hope it did not escape the notice of my hon. Friends on the Front Bench and in the Cabinet Office that substantial submissions were made by Alexander Dennis, Wrightbus and supply chain businesses that rely on the primary UK manufacturing sector. The UK manufacturing sector is clear on a way forward that supports it without significant structural legislative change. We need a stronger emphasis on social value, and I believe Ministers must now consider a 30% social value weighting and clearer local economic benefit expectations.

Social value criteria should be directly linked to key performance indicators that provide evidence of growing industry; job creation and retention; skills and metrics, including economic impact; taxes paid in the UK; supply chain spend; and UK gross value added to UK plc. Simply setting social value at 10% would continue to risk it being immaterial to scheme outcomes, as we saw in Scotland, and would be an inadequate tool to deal with rapidly diminishing British market share.

Will the Minister confirm in his summing-up what further action is being considered to encourage contracting authorities to maximise their portion of the 10-year bus pipeline through domestic content when it is published? In addition, what conversations has he sought with Cabinet Office colleagues on procurement reform to amplify the views of the manufacturing sector and supply chain businesses when the time comes to legislate?

The necessity to retain and grow our domestic capacity is increasingly essential when serious concerns are being raised across Europe about the security of some Chinese-built buses. Following concerns raised by myself and the hon. and learned Member for North Antrim, there is currently a National Cyber Security Centre and Department for Transport investigation into the risk of remote deactivation in some Chinese-built buses. I understand, through subsequent reports in the media, that the possibility of remote deactivation exists for 700-plus buses currently active on British roads.

Although the risk may appear abstract to some, this issue raises important long-term security, autonomy and dependability concerns for my constituents, operators and passengers. Our manufacturers currently comply with security regulations 155 and 156, verified by the Vehicle Certification Agency, which ensures that vehicle manufacturers implement comprehensive cyber-security measures throughout a vehicle’s life cycle and ensures that software updates happen safely and securely. Approval certificates, however, can be sought from other countries’ approval authorities through mutual recognition arrangements for non-UK verification.

I raised written questions prior to the interim reports of the investigation being reported in the media. I will repeat them here, considering the new information. Have the Government considered requiring UK VCA verification for any non-domestic manufacturers in the UK following those concerns? Following that, will the Government accept that national industrial security could and should be factored into any subsequent taxpayer-funded procurement exercises? If there is any degree of fallibility in security that cannot be adequately mitigated, the Procurement Act 2023 surely provides the powers for contracting authorities to disregard bids from non-treaty state suppliers.

Is that a power the Government would consider encouraging or mandating contracting authorities to use, if they are not satisfied with the security of buses coming from abroad? Although that would certainly be significant action, buses are the most used form of public transport in the country and are essential national infrastructure. We know that there are sufficiently credible risks to warrant Chinese-built buses being investigated. Without prejudicing the outcome of the investigation, which I understand is still on track, will the Minister provide us with as much of an update as possible on when we should expect the investigation to be concluded? This concern reinforces the need to move urgently to tilt the market away from increased reliance on Chinese manufacturers and towards self-sufficiency.

With 400 jobs and the very existence of a century-old bus manufacturing sector put in jeopardy in my community in Falkirk last year, the state of the UK bus manufacturing sector is a real and present issue, not only for my community but for our national industrial security and how we effectively execute a just transition, as we move towards the zero emission bus mandate for 2030 at the earliest. The transition towards clean transport has been, and will be, backed by billions in additional funding from this Government, who have shown the ability to be bold on industrial policy. We have a valued, well-paid and skilled workforce. At the same time, we have an existential challenge from foreign competitors. Too much taxpayers’ money goes abroad, and too many self-imposed targets were missed by previous Governments.

If we do not adopt creative policies from elsewhere to support our British industry, we risk losing those jobs permanently to Chinese manufacturing, and if that is done, it cannot be undone. If UK bus manufacturing fails, for as long as this country is subsidising buses we will be sending taxpayers’ money abroad, so we cannot afford the cost of doing nothing.

Deindustrialisation is not an inevitable process—a reaction to the UK sector losing market share. We have policy levers. We can increase social value weighting expectations nationally and locally to 30%; we can give clear guidance to contracting authorities on how the muscle in the Procurement Act can best be strategically deployed; we can clearly state the risks that kill switches could present; and we can back British buses.

My constituents and I hope to see buses being built in Falkirk for a long time to come. I want the same for communities in Ballymena, Scarborough, Aldershot and beyond. I believe this Government can make that hope a concrete reality, but to do that we need to make the right choices. We need to make bolder choices, and we need to make them now.

[Several hon. Members rose—]

[Dr Andrew Murrison (in the Chair)]

I will call the Front Benchers at 10.28 am. There are about half a dozen Members seeking to catch my eye, so they will have five or six minutes each. Colleagues should reflect on keeping their remarks brief—a copybook example of which will be provided by Graham Leadbitter.

09:46

[Graham Leadbitter (Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey) (SNP)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dr Murrison. I congratulate the co-chairs of the APPG, the hon. Member for Falkirk (Euan Stainbank) and the hon. and learned Member for North Antrim (Jim Allister), on securing the debate.

I like to think I have a bit of an affinity with buses. For my entire time at high school—three years at Oban high school and three years at Biggar high school—every school day started and ended on a bus, as it does for many living in rural communities. At the age of 15, I volunteered at Biggar’s Albion works as part of a Duke of Edinburgh’s award, and helped to restore an Albion lorry. Albion was, of course, one of Scotland’s first vehicle manufacturers, and that included the manufacture of many buses. I do not know whether anybody here is old enough to remember that.

Although Albion is sadly no more, Alexander Dennis has been manufacturing buses in Scotland for more than 100 years and provides significant skilled employment. In Scotland, we recognise the importance of bus travel. The SNP has put in place a number of measures to boost bus use, including an extensive bus pass system, which includes free bus travel for under-23s. It has had positive social impacts and gives young and old people access to vital services and to education, employment and social opportunities. Increased bus use means steady demand for new buses to replace or expand existing fleets, and higher demand means greater opportunity for manufacturers.

In my former role as council leader in Moray, I had the pleasure of being a signatory of the Moray growth deal, which included the m.connect scheme—a combination of massively expanded on-demand bus services and expanded scheduled services over a large geography. It is well supported and well liked by the public and, again, more services mean more buses.

However, there are serious challenges for bus manufacturers—notably from cheap foreign imports, especially from China—and that raises questions about the current procurement rules. The UK-wide Subsidy Control Act 2022 has prevented the Scottish Government from directly procuring from a single supplier, which puts avoidable strain on domestic bus manufacture.

Protecting skilled manufacturing in Scotland is critical to building our transition to a green industrial economy. That is why the Scottish Government committed £4 million to retain more than 400 manufacturing jobs at Alexander Dennis through a furlough scheme to protect crucial skilled workers until work can recommence. It was because of that collaboration and determination, and a shared belief in the value and the future of domestic manufacturing, that the Scottish Government and Alexander Dennis were able to negotiate that deal. But the obvious preference for the company, the Government and, most importantly, those workers is to have a steady stream of orders and no requirement for such a scheme.

There are several key things the UK can do to support bus manufacturing. The Subsidy Control Act needs reworking. As the hon. Member for Falkirk said, social value weighting needs to be ramped up. As a councillor, I argued very strongly for that for a wide range of contracts, and I continue to do so today. It is perfectly reasonable to place weighting on local supply chain content, quality assurance, apprenticeships and much more.

We also need to significantly tighten up certification of buses to ensure consistently high standards, especially on issues such as cyber-security. There have been multiple investigations in various countries into so-called kill switches in imported vehicles and other technologies, so that is clearly of critical importance.

There is a particular irony in trying to grow an electrically powered bus fleet in the UK by shipping buses in large numbers halfway around the world using heavy fuel-powered cargo ships. The green credentials of such procurement arrangements are highly questionable. The whole carbon impact of manufacture and delivery needs to be considered. Work also needs to be done by the Government and power distribution companies to ensure that grid connections for new charging installations are carried out in a timely way. Bus operators will not procure modern EV buses if they have nowhere to plug them in.

In conclusion, there are several actions the Government can take to support bus manufacturing and manufacturing more generally. That would also give public authorities and Governments across these islands more tools in the box to support procurement that drives growth and skilled jobs in our manufacturing sector, and ensures a future for these well-known, well-liked companies.

[Dr Andrew Murrison (in the Chair)]

I call the co-sponsor of the debate, Jim Allister.

09:50

[Jim Allister (North Antrim) (TUV)]

It is a pleasure to serve under you, Dr Murrison. I declare an interest as the co-chair of the APPG for British buses.

As the representative for North Antrim, I have the privilege of having Wrightbus as the key manufacturing company in my constituency. It is remarkable that, having started in a domestic garage just after the second world war, Wrightbus is now one of the world leaders in technology, skills and innovation. Ballymena in my constituency will forever be grateful to Sir William Wright for his innovative foresight, which led to where we are today.

It was not always an easy road. Just a few years ago, after substantial problems, Wrightbus rose like a phoenix from the ashes under new ownership, generating 2,300 jobs and producing many, many hundreds of buses, with the ambition to produce more than 3,000. I recently visited the site again, and saw the most modern of the company’s buses, which thankfully take care of all the accessibility needs one could think of. I was encouraged by the enthusiasm of the new chief executive, who certainly has ambitious plans for the site.

It is important that we as a nation grab hold of the opportunity here. The industrial strategy talks about advanced manufacturing as a strategic growth sector. If we mean that—I certainly believe that the sector has that potential—we must twin it with the approach we take on procurement. There is no point saying that advanced manufacturing is a strategic growth sector if our procurement policy is letting it down.

[Mr Gregory Campbell (East Londonderry) (DUP)]

Given that we have a growth policy that aims to support UK bus manufacturing, does the hon. and learned Member agree that it seems totally counterproductive that we subsidise overseas bus manufacturers to bring buses into the United Kingdom? We have such magnificent manufacturing bases in Northern Ireland, Scotland and England.

[Jim Allister]

Indeed, and the Chancellor is on record as saying that

“where things are made, and who makes them, matters.”—[Official Report, 11 June 2025; Vol. 768, c. 979.]

That is correct, and the Government need to get that message embedded in their soul.

I want to speak directly to the mayor of this great city—our capital city. In recent times, 479 Chinese buses have been put on our streets, with another 160 to follow—that is China, with the kill switches. I ask the mayor and TfL: where is the national pride in our capital city if we arrive and discover that the bus we are likely to get on was made in China rather than the United Kingdom? Other mayors seem to have had the vision and the desire to promote British-made products. That desire needs to catch flame here in the capital city, and I trust that it will.

Our procurement must be assertive and bold. There are the social value tools to make our procurement effective in assisting the production of home-made buses. We should be unashamed to do as other countries do when it comes to productivity. I hope that one outcome of this debate will be that those in a position to order buses reflect on where they order them from, and that we will see an interest in and accentuation of orders from within our United Kingdom. We have the means. We have the product. Let us build on it and make it even greater.

Finally, I want to raise a particular problem with production and exports in Northern Ireland. Sadly, under the Brexit arrangement, we are still under EU state aid rules. We see that in clauses 13 to 15 of the Finance (No. 2) Bill, which increase the level available for enterprise management incentives, enterprise investment schemes and venture capital trusts in Great Britain, but hold it down for companies in Northern Ireland. Why? Because of EU state aid rules. We also see it in the Industry and Exports (Financial Assistance) Bill, which again caps us under the EU state aid limits. How can we have a level playing field for UK production if, quite outrageously, one part of the United Kingdom is subject to a cap under EU state aid rules, which would not be there at all, of course, if we were properly part of the United Kingdom and had properly achieved Brexit? For Wrightbus, the workers in my constituency and the commonality of this United Kingdom, we must have that level playing field. That will then unleash opportunities for this great industry. It is time for the Government to liberate the bus building industry so that it can grow, including in Northern Ireland.

09:58

[Brian Leishman (Alloa and Grangemouth) (Lab)]

Good morning, Dr Murrison; I am delighted to serve under your chairship. I bring attention to my membership of Unite, and I record my appreciation for the hon. and learned Member for North Antrim (Jim Allister) and for my constituency neighbour, my hon. Friend the Member for Falkirk (Euan Stainbank), for securing this vital debate.

My hon. Friend and I both have Alexander Dennis sites in our constituencies, and we have campaigned together, representing the interests of the AD workers from Larbert in my constituency and Falkirk in his. Of course, being MPs from central Scotland, we are sadly no strangers to big industrial issues. Scotland’s only oil refinery operated in Grangemouth for a century until last year, when it was closed by its owners—a combination of a multinational company owned by a billionaire and a company controlled by the Chinese Government.

Eight miles along the M9 from Grangemouth is Larbert, which is my Alexander Dennis site. It is a huge local employer, and it is feeling the adverse effects of Chinese influence.

It is a well-known fact that Chinese buses and batteries currently have a substantial share of the market. Alexander Dennis workers and trade unionists have laid out the realities and issues that British bus manufacturers are facing. As is the case in many different industries, China is now able to overpower more established economies, and the position of European nations in a global trade context has dramatically changed.

Let us be clear: as a Government, we are not without power. Things can be done to help British business. The Government must be willing to intervene, impact and change the circumstances for British industry. It can be done. It was done, in December last year, when the Labour Government stepped in and saved the British chemical industry at Grangemouth. Our intervention saved 500 skilled and well-paid jobs on site, reversed the town’s industrial decline and boosted the local and national economy. That is the good that Government intervention does for British industry, British workers and British working-class communities.

I say to the Minister that, sadly, Labour Governments do not come around all that often, so it is up to us to be assertive and to create, at the very least, a level playing field. In fact, why not make it more advantageous for British companies to do business? Where things are made matters, and “Buy British” and Britain being “Britain’s best customer” have to be more than political slogans.

Things must be changed to make it easier for our companies to be competitive, and we know that the SNP will not do it. It is easy for them to duck responsibility and point the finger at Conservative Governments of the past who treated working-class Scots and Scottish industry with utter contempt. But we have had 20 years of SNP Government with zero industrial strategy. Equally bad has been their public procurement policy. If it is not buses ordered from China, it is ferries built in Turkey or Poland; it is NHS Scotland contracts going to France; it is Scottish Government cyber-security services being outsourced to the United States. Over £7.7 billion of Scottish Government expenditure—public money—has gone to foreign companies. Stronger for Scotland? The treatment of Scottish workers, including the bus industry, which we are talking about today, is a national scandal.

In finishing, I say to the Minister: go back to the Department and be bold, be transformative and put our workers, our communities and our businesses at the heart of everything that we do.

10:02

[Andrew Rosindell (Romford) (Reform)]

Good morning, Dr Murrison. As always, it is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship. I congratulate the hon. Member for Falkirk (Euan Stainbank) and my good friend the hon. and learned Member for North Antrim (Jim Allister) on securing this important debate. Today we gather to discuss British bus manufacturing. We are here to highlight not only skills, the economy and transportation but, I believe, the integral role of all those dimensions to the security of our entire nation.

This industry is woven into every facet of our national life. It is part of the fabric of our island story, and I believe we must defend it. This is not just about vehicles; rather, it is about our British heritage, our skills and the future of our country. There are more than 4,150 highly skilled individuals directly employed, and more than 13,000 indirectly employed, in the supply chain of bus manufacturing throughout the United Kingdom. Bus manufacturing is a powerhouse of skilled jobs that trains and employs local people across 90 local authorities. Those jobs are not only skilled but more highly paid than comparable occupations, with salaries 20% higher than in other parts of the supply chain.

Sadly, we do not manufacture buses in my constituency of Romford, but local people are employed in all parts of the supply chain, and many more depend upon it.

Every day, local people in Romford, which is part of Greater London, rely on buses supplied by great companies like Ulster’s Wrightbus keeping our communities connected. In my borough of Havering to the east side of London in Essex—where my constituency is located—almost a quarter of journeys are made by bus, and across the whole of the Greater London region, buses enable more than two thirds of journeys.

Buses are an essential lifeline for so many of our constituents. I use buses all the time; I jump on the 103, or possibly the 499, from my home down to Romford station on the way to Westminster. We have two very good buses in my community. They are provided by Transport for London, which comes under the Mayor of London. I entirely endorse the hon. and learned Member for North Antrim when he talks about the absolute failure of pride that the Mayor of London shows in our part of the country. British buses could be purchased and procured for use in Greater London, and yet Mayor Khan is going to China: shame on him. That is one reason why people in my borough would love to have the opportunity to not be under Greater London and be fully part of Essex as we have historically always been.

While our buses are essential for both the economy and transportation, that is only part of the picture. We ought not to forget that many British buses are made in Northern Ireland. That is a stark reminder of the severe damage being inflicted by the Windsor framework—a shameful betrayal of the people of Northern Ireland that is creating barriers between British people and businesses, and creating two internal markets in one United Kingdom. That is a national disgrace and must be brought to an end. We are one United Kingdom and all British people should be treated the same. The rules should apply throughout all parts of our great nation; we should not be separating Northern Ireland from Scotland, Wales and England. I look forward to the next Government—and I hope it will be a Reform UK Government—reversing the Windsor framework and implementing Brexit as the people voted for.

It is also a reminder of the continuing avenues for growth and job creation across the Union. Wrightbus is a prime example; the Ballymena company produces dozens of buses every year, employing hundreds of local people and supplying a quarter of buses across Greater London. That means roughly a quarter of bus journeys taken by my constituents are made possible by the entrepreneurial spirit and work ethic of the good people of Ulster. That is an incredible testament to the importance of the Union and showcases Britain at her very best.

By backing British bus manufacturing, we are not only calling on the Government to protect transport networks, the economy or even the Union, but also asking that they live up to their central responsibility to defend our national security. Under the zero emission bus regional areas scheme, which ended in 2024, 40% of buses were procured from abroad, increasing foreign influence in this native industry and divesting from the domestic skills base. Worse still, publications such as The Times, The Guardian and others have reported extensively on kill switches present in foreign-made buses, inserted by international competitors or adversaries of the United Kingdom, such as the People’s Republic of China. The very real risk of foreign disruption has been permitted for too long by successive—I am afraid to say—Conservative and Labour Governments and must be brought to an end. Keeping our bus manufacturing in British hands is no longer a patriotic preference or an economic luxury, but a national necessity. I call on the Government to keep our bus network in British hands, protect our people and create jobs across the kingdom that showcase British excellence. Let us ensure that we have the skills, investment and political will to back British industry making British buses: British made for generations to come.

[Several hon. Members rose—]

[Dr Andrew Murrison (in the Chair)]

I appeal to colleagues to be brief in their remarks so that we can get everybody in.

10:09

[Kenneth Stevenson (Airdrie and Shotts) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Dr Murrison. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Falkirk (Euan Stainbank) and the hon. and learned Member for North Antrim (Jim Allister) for securing this important and timely debate. I also say “happy birthday” to my hon. Friend the Member for Falkirk—I know that he says he is 25, but I am not so sure about that. Bus manufacturing is a significant sector in both Members’ constituencies, through Alexander Dennis and Wrightbus. I commend my hon. Friend the Member for Falkirk and the hon. and learned Member for North Antrim for their dedicated efforts to support a highly skilled sector that employs more than 4,000 people across the United Kingdom and a further 13,000 in the supply chain.

The United Kingdom has a proud industrial heritage. It was known for its ability to build and build well, and companies such as our bus manufacturers keep that reputation alive. Engineering has been critical to our country’s success, and small steps, such as including engineering in the name of the current Science, Innovation and Technology Committee, would show this Parliament’s collective determination to highlight the role that engineering has to play in our future. That is a pet peeve of mine and something that the Tories and failed Reform have no idea about—in the past and in the future.

The United Kingdom can have a booming, home-grown economy at its centre once again. As an engineer and former lecturer, I am passionate about the future of UK manufacturing and innovation, but I am well aware of the need to harness potential through timely investment and the right strategies. A modern industrial strategy is required, but it must not be in name only. Any strategy must have the creation of a skills-based economy at its heart. It must be cognisant of the impacts of deindustrialisation in constituencies such as mine in Airdrie and Shotts, and it must commit to utilising skills that exist here in the UK to get Britain building and to ensure that major employers such as Alexander Dennis have a role to play long into the future.

This Government are committed to securing the future of industry and supporting bus manufacturers in their move to electric, but we must collectively go further.

[Jen Craft (Thurrock) (Lab)]

Ensignbus, which operates in my constituency, is not a bus manufacturer per se, but it repurposes buses and is looking to get into the repowering of buses that have finished their natural life, usually in London, which will aid the switch to zero emissions. Will my hon. Friend join me in encouraging and supporting it in that endeavour, and in urging the Minister to look into what we can do as a Government to support enterprises such as this?

[Kenneth Stevenson]

Yes, of course I would. There is a major move towards making sure that cars in the future, such as Beetles etc, move to electric power. There is a move towards that in America, and we should make that move in the UK towards taking cars and buses that can be improved and moving them to batteries or even hydrogen—to non-fossil fuels.

In Scotland, the Scottish Government’s procurement is so deeply flawed that contracts are handed to Chinese bus manufacturers when the skills exist in our central belt. Investing in British bus manufacturing by supporting companies such as Alexander Dennis will not only get state-of-the-art buses on the road, but bolster national security, given the serious and widely held concerns surrounding where Chinese manufactured buses are controlled from and whether an action taken in China could bring electric buses here to a halt.

Too many fossil fuel-powered buses—more than 36,000—remain on our roads. Bus manufacturers here in the United Kingdom are prepared to meet the demand to replace them. Manufacturers are calling for certainty and security, and they are asking for Government buy-in. To think that a company such as Alexander Dennis was at risk of going under, and that the jobs of people in my constituency were threatened, when such potential exists to invest in and grow the sector is deeply worrying. Words must quickly turn into action in every part of the United Kingdom to get this industry back on its feet and contributing to our economy in the way we know that it can. That is why net zero emission bus funds, whether in Scotland or across the United Kingdom, must be accessible to British businesses. The potential to grow our economy through investing in British bus manufacturing is clear to see, and I hope to hear from the Minister how we will embrace that potential, deliver for UK industry, and protect and create jobs for years to come.

10:15

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

It is a real pleasure to serve under your chairship, as always, Dr Murrison, and I say a special thank you to the hon. Member for Falkirk (Euan Stainbank) and the hon. and learned Member for North Antrim (Jim Allister) for highlighting this topic and securing the debate. There is a potential for UK-wide investment, which will pay UK-wide dividends. I am pleased to see the Minister in his place, and I wish him well in his role. I know that he will give very confident and positive answers to our questions.

The constituency of the hon. and learned Member for North Antrim encompasses Ballymena and is strongly linked to buses. He will be aware that I have supported and cheered on Wrightbus for many years and will continue to do so because, as he rightly said, bus manufacturing is a UK-wide project, which Strangford plays her part in. While primary assembly is done in Ballymena, the Northern Irish manufacturing sector is highly integrated. It is common for precision engineering firms in the Strangford constituency to act as tier 2 or tier 3 suppliers, providing specific components such as metal fabrications or electronic systems to larger manufacturers. As Members in this Chamber know, we need the small cogs as well as the big ones for the engine to power up, so there is a role for us all to play across many of our constituencies in relation to that.

The fact is that the reputation for Northern Ireland crafted vehicles is top class; it is no exaggeration to say that we are world leaders in the field. The hon. Member for Falkirk said that his bus companies are leaders in the field, and they are. It is a collective goal that we are trying to achieve. That we are world leaders is undoubtedly down to the investment and support of local bus makers such as Wrightbus. The hon. and learned Member for North Antrim set the scene in relation to Wrightbus. He set out how it has advanced to where it is today, and told us of the key role that it plays. Its submission to the Business and Trade Committee made it abundantly clear how supporting the manufacturing sector can help others in the United Kingdom.

I find it so interesting that the global bus market is worth around $21 billion and that some 3 million buses are used for public transport. To meet global net zero goals, all buses—or at least the vast majority of them—will need to switch to zero emission alternatives by 2050. There is a great desire for the new, green-friendly electric buses. If a bus is going to last for 15 years, that commitment needs to be made now, so maybe the Minister can give us some idea of what is going to happen in relation to that.

As Members may know, the average lifespan of a bus is 15 years, which means that bus operators and local authorities are now making investments in the decarbonisation of their fleets. According to those projections, global sales of zero emission buses are due to rise from 112,000 in 2022 to 670,000 in 2027. That is massive—it would be a growth of six times in a period of five years. As a result, there is a major export opportunity for the UK bus manufacturers to sell zero emission buses in a growing global market.

To do that, Wrightbus needs Government support, not simply financially but promotionally. The Government must ensure that firms throughout Europe can order with confidence from this very niche but very successful firm. I believe that more can and must be done by the Government to provide that security, and that begins with investment in the facility. I am confident that every investment of time and money will pay dividends throughout this United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

I thank hon. Members for the motion and give my wholehearted support once again, knowing that a rising tide lifts all ships. Northern Ireland has historically carried out high-level manufacturing in the air, in the sea and on land, and each of those industries has potential for so much more. I hope that, from today, we begin to realise that potential.

10:19

[Alison Taylor (Paisley and Renfrewshire North) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under you, Dr Murrison. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Falkirk (Euan Stainbank) for leading on such a critical issue for his constituents. As of the third quarter of 2023, the UK manufactured only around 17% of UK buses, employing around 4,400 people while also supporting supply chains. That is undoubtedly an economic benefit, but it is also less harmful for our precious planet.

Transporting large goods from as far away as China obviously has a detrimental environmental impact. Britain should be at the heart of manufacturing electric buses for our own use, driving forward the green transition to halt climate change. In my constituency, which covers part of Glasgow, improving air quality has undoubted health benefits. Driving change does not happen by accident; it needs a strategy, a plan, hard work and investment.

The demand for electric buses will only continue to grow. I hope we can ensure that domestic demand is primarily met here. Alexander Dennis has faced significant issues over the last few years, and I hope they are temporary and resolvable. The future of bus manufacturing in the UK should be strong and positive, build on the existing manufacturing base and be supported by a strong domestic pipeline of orders.

There is no shortage of existing sites for the expansion of bus manufacturing in Scotland. Bus manufacturing companies seeking new sites need look no further than the advanced manufacturing district for Scotland at Glasgow airport in my own constituency, which has an ample supply of land, access to the White Cart river for water, good motorway connections and a developer and a local authority poised to construct low-carbon buildings at a reasonable cost.

Communities like mine in Paisley and Renfrewshire North need more and better buses, including slicker, smaller buses that can wind through our housing estates. The reliability and availability of buses and their routes comes up frequently on the doors of my constituency, particularly in Gallowhill, Ferguslie Park, Erskine, Renfrew, Penilee and Cardonald, where they are a lifeline to doctor’s appointments, work and seeing families and friends. My constituents need to know that more buses will be coming very soon.

10:22

[Tracy Gilbert (Edinburgh North and Leith) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dr Murrison. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Falkirk (Euan Stainbank) and the hon. and learned Member for North Antrim (Jim Allister) on securing this important debate. My contribution will be short; it will focus on the Government’s approach to securing the manufacturing jobs we have already in the UK, and how we can expand that number further.

My hon. Friend will be very happy that my Edinburgh constituents ride on buses manufactured in his constituency every day, so much so that since 2018 Lothian Buses has purchased 180 buses from Alexander Dennis. In 2018, Lothian Buses and Alexander Dennis unveiled a brand new 100-seater double-decker bus. Even stepping on these buses today, they feel state of the art, with increased driver safety and passenger convenience. In 2021, Lothian Buses started testing four Enviro400EV double-decker buses, which were the result of an electric vehicle partnership between Alexander Dennis and BYD UK. This kind of partnership demonstrates the work and innovation already under way in manufacturing to decarbonise the transport that we use across our cities every day.

Lothian Buses is the largest municipal bus company in the United Kingdom. It will come as no surprise to many of us that a municipal bus company, working with the same procurement policies and constraints as other bus companies, has supported local manufacturing. Ownership matters, and Lothian Buses demonstrates that municipal ownership leads to positive economic benefits for the people such companies serve. I am keen to hear from the Minister whether the Government have further plans to support or encourage municipal ownership to ensure that the decisions on services, standards and operations are always made for the benefit of passengers.

10:24

[John Milne (Horsham) (LD)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Dr Murrison. I, too, thank the hon. Member for Falkirk (Euan Stainbank) and the hon. and learned Member for North Antrim (Jim Allister) for bringing this important industry to the attention of the House.

The latest figures tell us that just 17% of buses used in the UK are manufactured here, which of course means that 83% come from abroad. Those figures are very much the wrong way round. What can we do to reverse them?

A number of trends have come together to make what was always a challenging market much more difficult. In particular, we have seen the shift to low emission vehicles on environmental and pollution grounds. That has created a major inflection point in the market. It is an opportunity for companies if they can get ahead of the curve—a chance for them to displace established players—but potentially a major setback if other companies get there first. In this sector, the competitive advantage clearly lies with Chinese manufacturers.

Research published in 2024 by the professional services firm KPMG on the economic impact of local bus services found that the sector invests over £180 million each year in UK buses. KPMG also estimates that around 53,000 people are indirectly employed through the industry’s supply chain, including those working for manufacturers, fuel suppliers, maintenance, parts companies and technology providers. That amounts to a major contribution, both to the economy and of course to employment.

However, the only solution to a long-term strategic problem lies in a long-term strategy. Under the previous Government, there was no industrial strategy worthy of the name. One arm of Government did not seem to know, or care, what another was doing. The need for environmentally friendly forms of public transport was clear a long time ago, but the move towards such transport and the subsidies to support it seems to have been carried out in isolation from policy relating to UK manufacturing. The Liberal Democrats welcome the present Government’s move to a more strategic approach, and I hope the Minister will tell us more about those plans today.

As Liberal Democrats, our approach would be, first, to establish a comprehensive industrial strategy in partnership with business, civil society, including trade unions and academia. Secondly, we would ensure that the principles of tackling the climate emergency, boosting living standards, spreading prosperity everywhere in the UK and growing the economy are at the heart of that strategy. Thirdly, we would seek to provide a strategic framework for effectively addressing the needs of economically disadvantaged remote or rural areas by collaborating with local, regional and devolved authorities in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Fourthly, we need to work towards four key business priorities: a positive business climate; leveraging technology to supercharge the green economy; empowering small businesses to create prosperity in local communities; and boosting trade. Finally, we need to enable businesses to achieve these priorities by enabling the workforce of tomorrow with a training and apprenticeship programme, investing in key infrastructure, scaling digital innovation and technology adoption, and creating financial markets that work for all businesses.

Although the solution has to be long-term, there is the short-term challenge of keeping the bus industry that we already have afloat in the meantime. The businesses at Wrightbus and Alexander Dennis play a key role in their local economies, as we have heard from the local Members. I hope that the Minister will give us an idea of how we can bridge the gap between what has worked until now and how we need to operate in the future. We have a fantastic workforce and an amazing history in automotive manufacturing. Let us make sure that the industry continues to prosper in the future.

10:28

[Mr Richard Holden (Basildon and Billericay) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Dr Murrison. The debate comes at an apposite time. I was particularly glad to have heard from the hon. Member for Falkirk (Euan Stainbank) and the hon. and learned Member for North Antrim (Jim Allister), who both made excellent speeches. Whether someone is in Ballymena, Aldershot, Falkirk, Scarborough or indeed anywhere that bus manufacturing is based in Britain, we want to see a thriving and successful UK bus manufacturing sector, because it is critical to local communities. I was glad to have visited Alexander Dennis when I was the buses Minister.

However, at the very top level across the country, we are seeing real damage being caused by the Government’s complete mismanagement of the economy, with rising national insurance, increases in business rates and self-created economic uncertainty. Those problems have been doubled down on when it comes to our bus manufacturing sector, but it is important to set out the fundamental issues affecting businesses right across the country.

As hon. Members have mentioned, the UK bus manufacturing sector directly employs about 4,200 people, with about 13,000 more in the supply chain. It is vital that we retain and grow that workforce. My fear is that the bus sector, and what is happening to it, is the canary in the mineshaft for manufacturing generally, and particularly vehicle manufacturing, in the UK. As the hon. Member for Horsham (John Milne) noted, in the past year, just 17% of buses with new registrations were made in the UK. There has been a significant and rapid reduction over the past couple of years.

Buses are the most popular form of public transport, so we know that we will continue to need new buses in the UK well into the future, but many companies in the sector are facing huge challenges from increased overseas competition alongside technological change, so we must take the opportunity to ensure that we have companies that are able to compete in an increasingly challenging marketplace. It is not always a competitive marketplace—that point was made clearly by the hon. and learned Member for North Antrim and the hon. Member for Falkirk—but it is a challenging one for many bus manufacturers.

We also need to ensure that UK companies continue to innovate, so that they are at the forefront of technological change. We must examine the hard work of many companies, but especially Wrightbus and Alexander Dennis, the two companies mentioned by the proposers of today’s debate. Those companies have been through challenging times, but they have taken enormous steps to become technological leaders in the sector. Wrightbus in particular has announced enormous growth over the past few years. In 2019, it had fewer than 50 employees and went into administration, with 1,200 jobs being lost. It now provides more than 2,000 jobs in County Antrim, which shows the opportunities for UK manufacturing when there is growth.

At the same time, I recognise the issues noted by the hon. Member for Falkirk, which AD and Wrightbus both referred to in their respective financial announcements. The UK bus industry is facing huge financial challenges. It is vital that we understand the challenges those companies face and ensure that the business environment for them and other companies in the sector is as friendly, financially viable, pro-British business and pro-British worker as it can feasibly be. That means creating a sector that has the opportunity to grow, with technology that can rival that of any company around the world.

During my time as buses Minister, there was exceptionally strong growth in the bus sector, with a 44.6% increase in new registrations. That was driven most strongly by British-built double-decker buses, registrations of which increased by 173.6% during that time. We also became the largest market in Europe for electric and hydrogen-powered buses, under a scheme that was Government supported but local-authority led. None the less, councils have sometimes chosen foreign manufacturers over UK ones. Councils in Leicester, Nottingham, West Yorkshire, the north-east of England and Newport, and now, as the hon. Member for Romford (Andrew Rosindell) mentioned, the Mayor of London have chosen to buy foreign-made buses. That issue was raised today by Members on all sides, and it is one that I battled with when I was Minister. We want to ensure that existing companies in the UK can prosper. Creating the conditions for that is vital.

We must consider not only the work of UK companies but the challenges they face in the international context. Bus manufacturing is a global industry with manufacturers around the world, which is why the Minister is probably facing some of the issues that I faced when I was Minister. Clearly, one of those is social value, which we must do much more about. It is interesting that the hon. Member for Falkirk mentioned the figure of 10%, and I am sure that he is right. We must reflect on that, especially in the international context, and consider how to increase it. That is in the context of something that has only emerged in the past few years: increasing and broader concerns about cyber-security, technology and kill switches. When we put those two things side by side—social value and the security of our bus network, which provides the most popular form of public transport—we see that we have to ensure that we end up in the right place. I ask the Government to commit to reviewing their policies so that matters such as the regulation of equipment, the evaluation of security risk, and trade policy do not enhance the prospects of manufacturers from other countries to the detriment of British manufacturers, especially when taxpayers’ money is being used.

Chinese manufacturers are becoming a dominant force in multiple forms of transport. In 2025, BYD overtook Tesla to become the largest seller of electric vehicles, and Chinese electric bus manufacturing has been significant for some time. The International Energy Agency noted that in 2024, just under 50,000 of the 72,000 electric buses sold globally were sold in China, and that Chinese manufacturers have increasingly looked at exports to exploit the available overcapacity in domestic manufacturing. In 2024, more than 15,000 electric buses were exported from China—a 25% increase on 2023 alone.

Yutong, a Chinese company that is the largest bus manufacturer in the world, grew to take an 8.4% UK market share by the third quarter of 2025. It is clear that, while Chinese providers are present, we must ensure that all relevant trade practices are fair and that the technology being used does not create security risks. I am aware of the worrying reports before Christmas that, following an investigation in Norway, the Department for Transport was working with the National Cyber Security Centre to assess whether Yutong’s remote access to vehicle control systems, for software updates and diagnostics, was a security concern. I would be grateful if the Minister provided details on whether that issue has been looked into and, if so, what the results were.

We need to confront such difficult questions as we do not want to be in the position of enabling bus manufacturers from abroad to take advantage of our policies while making our own manufacturers uncompetitive. There is a risk of the situation worsening, given the Government’s enthusiasm for raising taxes on domestic businesses and particularly on domestic employment.

Will the Minister also consider other Government schemes that send money for manufacturing abroad? I am thinking particularly of the electric car grant: 90% of the vehicles covered by that scheme, and 100% of motorcycles, are built in other countries. This is British taxpayers’ money going abroad to subsidise manufacturing in other countries. We are talking about billions of pounds, so it is really important that we look at the issue. Earlier, it was good to hear Labour Back Benchers make strong points about British taxpayers’ money being sent abroad. The hon. and learned Member for North Antrim (Jim Allister) quoted the Chancellor of the Exchequer saying that

“where things are made, and who makes them, matters.”—[Official Report, 11 June 2025; Vol. 768, c. 979.]

The Government as a whole need to consider that; they would certainly have Opposition support if they wanted to address the matter more forcefully.

Overall, we know that the British public want comfortable buses that serve the public well. I am not going to dwell on the 50% bus fare increase, from £2 to £3, under this Government, as this debate is about UK bus manufacturing, but that manufacturing is driven by consistent growth and by what the people want: comfortable, clean buses, with people feeling safe on public transport that has a reliable and affordable model. I am confident that British manufacturers on both sides of the Irish sea can rise to the challenge of delivering what people want in our bus sectors.

As technology improves, we want to ensure that our manufacturers are not just protected as the best in the world but encouraged to compete right across the board, offering the jobs critical to local economies up and down the country. To do so, we must support businesses and their workers and ensure that our regulations and taxes do not place a burden that drags businesses down. I believe that that is the best way to ensure that British bus manufacturing remains competitive in the modern world. I really hope that the Minister reflects on some of the issues raised today, particularly the security concerns that have emerged forcefully over the last year, so that he sees what more can be done to support British bus manufacturing.

10:39

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Simon Lightwood)]

It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Dr Murrison. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Falkirk (Euan Stainbank) and the hon. and learned Member for North Antrim (Jim Allister) for securing this debate, and Members on both sides of the House for their passionate contributions. I wish my hon. Friend the Member for Falkirk a wheely good birthday—[Interruption.] I was particularly proud of that. Look on the bright side: he is one year closer to his bus pass.

It is clear from this debate that the UK bus manufacturing sector matters to our communities, our workers, our supply chains and our shared ambitions for cleaner, more inclusive transport across the country. I want to say at the outset that the Government share hon. Members’ commitment to ensuring that the UK remains a world leader in bus design and manufacturing.

We have heard today about the proud heritage and continued innovation of two major UK manufacturers: Wrightbus in Ballymena, which I was very pleased to visit, and Alexander Dennis in Falkirk, Larbert and Scarborough. Their names are woven into the fabric of our industrial story. They produce buses that serve communities the length and breadth of the UK and increasingly showcase British engineering abroad. I pay tribute to the workforce across the UK—the engineers, apprentices, designers and technicians—whose skills sustain the sector. It is precisely because we recognise the importance of that workforce that the Government are taking decisive, practical action to support the long-term health of the industry.

Last March, we established the UK Bus Manufacturing Expert Panel because we are clear that we need a new kind of partnership—one that brings together manufacturers, operators, local leaders and central Government. Over the past year, it has worked tirelessly, focusing on three central objectives: supporting the growth of UK bus manufacturing, developing a clear pipeline of future orders to give manufacturers confidence to invest, and prioritising passenger-centric bus design to ensure that the future bus is fit for the people who rely on it.

As that work draws to a close, I can already see the tangible difference it has made. For years, manufacturers have told us that the biggest barrier to growth is lack of visibility of future demand. There are too many peaks and troughs and too much uncertainty to justify investment in new production lines, skills and research and development. The bus order pipeline is well advanced in development, aggregating likely industry demand for the next decade. I understand Members’ desire for it to focus on UK bus manufacturing. I intend to publish the pipeline shortly. It will offer for the first time a national forward look at the buses that we expect local authorities and operators to need. That degree of certainty can be transformational, giving our domestic manufacturers the confidence to hire, innovate and compete globally.

Members have also raised the essential role of zero emission buses in supporting UK manufacturing. Let me be clear: we are committed to the transition to a zero emission bus fleet. Zero emission buses bring real, lasting benefits: cleaner air, quieter journeys, lower running costs and more reliable services for passengers. Through ZEBRA 1 and ZEBRA 2, the Department has supported the roll-out of 2,500 zero emission buses and the infrastructure that they need. That real investment is already translating into orders, the majority of which have been won by UK manufacturers.

In April 2025, we provided a further £38 million to fund an additional 319 zero emission buses, again providing real opportunities for UK manufacturers. Alongside that, we have announced £15.6 billion over five years to improve local transport across some of the biggest city regions, and given local leaders the ability to allocate funding to upgrade and decarbonise their fleets. That is a long-term commitment to cleaner bus travel and, crucially, the domestic jobs and skills that go with it.

We introduced the Bus Services Act to deliver on our commitment to better buses up and down the country. Encouraging bus operators to upgrade, modernise and decarbonise their bus fleets is a huge part of that work. The Act will introduce a requirement that new diesel buses cannot be used on local bus routes in England, which will come into force not before 2030. We will confirm the precise date in due course, but of course we will consult manufacturers and other stakeholders. Right now, that measure is sending an unambiguous signal to the entire sector that the future is zero emission. It gives manufacturers time to plan the shift, it gives operators breathing room to prepare, and it supports the longer-term case for investment in the UK.

Understandably, Members want to see UK taxpayers’ money supporting UK jobs, and I note their ask for a target for UK-built buses purchased using taxpayer funding in this Parliament. Although I cannot mandate the purchase of British-built buses due to the Subsidy Control Act and our international trade commitments, we can do more to help UK-based suppliers compete.

When I launched the expert panel last March, social value was a key theme that emerged—how we could get best support for jobs, skills and local economic growth. UK manufacturers reported that bus procurements typically had just a 5% weighting for social value criteria and that the procurement design did not sufficiently secure social and economic value in the way we would expect. I took two actions in response to their concerns.

First, in an extraordinary meeting of the expert panel in July, I secured broad agreement from mayoral authorities that they would make social value criteria at least 10% of weighting—so far. I am pleased to say that that is now happening. Secondly, I challenged the expert panel to focus on meaningful social value, ensuring that procurement is designed in a way that best delivers real social and economic value that supports the Government’s missions.

A report is due to be delivered in February at the next expert panel meeting, which I will chair, detailing best practice and recommendations. I will strongly encourage mayoral authorities to apply that best practice consistently. Although I cannot legally require authorities to buy British, we absolutely can and are helping them take into account the full value that British manufacturers offer. I assure Members that we are working with Cabinet Office colleagues to ensure that the views of the UK bus manufacturing sector are represented as they consider changes to public procurement. We want that work to help deliver the Government’s industrial strategy and foster a resilient economy that supports British businesses and creates good jobs in communities across the country.

I also want to address the concerns raised today about the potential remote deactivation of Chinese-made electric buses. As the Prime Minister said in his Guildhall speech in December 2025, we will never compromise the UK’s national security. We will take tough steps to keep the UK secure while also pursuing secure economic opportunities when they are in the UK’s interest.

The use of terms such as “kill switches” is alarmist. It is a fact of life that modern vehicles, regardless of where they are from, are increasingly using software to support safer driving, improve diagnostics and provide a host of other services. Updating that software remotely is effective and efficient, as well as a key mechanism for rectifying security vulnerabilities. But we are not complacent. The UK has already implemented two new UN cyber-security regulations, requiring manufacturers to strengthen cyber protections, rigorously oversee software updates, and maintain real-time incident monitoring. We will continue to lead internationally on cyber standards, ensuring that wherever buses, British-built or otherwise, are running on the roads, passenger safety, data security and operational integrity remain paramount. Parliamentarians will understand that some of our response is sensitive and that it would not be wise for us to broadcast details. Rest assured that we will act to manage any risks.

I turn to other hon. Members’ comments. We talked about repowering, which I absolutely support. I was privileged to officially open the Wrightbus bus repowering plant, NewPower, in Ballymena. I see the potential of that as a stepping stone to decarbonising our fleets.

A few hon. Members raised the issue of bus procurement in London. My understanding is that more than 50% of ZEBs that entered service in London in 2025 were manufactured or assembled in the UK. To be very clear, TfL does not purchase buses—the operators purchase buses, and TfL sets the specification for them. However, TfL has absolutely committed, as did other mayors at the UK Bus Manufacturing Expert Panel, to explore the social value commitments that I mentioned. Other items will include price, reliability, the quality of build, delivery times and, crucially, after-sales service.

Today’s debate has shown what Parliament does at its best: coming together across parties to stand up for British industry, British workers and British ingenuity. Let me close with this message: this Government are absolutely committed to ensuring the long-term success of the UK bus manufacturing sector. We know how important the sector is to communities, from Falkirk to Ballymena and far beyond, and the pride that British manufacturers feel when they see their buses on our roads. With the right support, the UK can remain at the forefront of bus manufacturing for decades to come. I thank all hon. Members for their contributions today. Above all, I thank the thousands of skilled workers who keep this industry moving. I look forward to continuing this work together in the months ahead.

[Dr Andrew Murrison (in the Chair)]

Given that it is his birthday, the hon. Member sponsoring this debate has quite a long time to wind up. He does not have to take the full 10 minutes.

10:50

[Euan Stainbank]

Thank you, Dr Murrison. I may take the full time; I may not. I thank all hon. Members from all four corners of the United Kingdom for coming to support our British bus manufacturing sector, which shows how important this industry is to many of us here today, especially those from Scotland. It was very apt, considering where the political focus has been, that two Scots kicked off today’s debate.

The hon. Member for Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey (Graham Leadbitter) used his experience as a worker at Albion, and then as a council leader, to demonstrate the value of bus services to our community. His point on the Subsidy Control Act was fairly made, as the Minister said. I appreciate his tacit admission, which I have not heard in many corners of Scotland, that social value is a way to correct these problems. I will be looking very attentively at the ScotZEB3 scheme to see how that is addressed compared with the ScotZEB2 scheme, which, from our constituents’ perspective, was substantially inadequate.

The hon. and learned Member for North Antrim (Jim Allister) has an extensive history as a champion for Wrightbus. It was good to hear support for both Alexander Dennis and Wrightbus in relative parity throughout the debate from two corners of our great United Kingdom. I share his frustration about the conduct of some franchisees. However, I was rather glad to hear in the Minister’s response that social value is being doubled to 10%.

My hon. Friend the Member for Alloa and Grangemouth (Brian Leishman) brought his characteristic fire and worker-led perspective to the debate. He championed our community over the summer through some of the darkest times it has experienced up to the very welcome resolution in September, with the delivery of furlough. He has been a strong champion for the workers’ perspective.

The hon. Member for Romford (Andrew Rosindell) powerfully made the point about the value of jobs. He reminded us that for every four jobs directly within the bus manufacturing sector, 13 are created further out in the supply chain. I welcome that perspective. My hon. Friend the Member for Airdrie and Shotts (Kenneth Stevenson), who always brings to bear his wealth of experience in engineering, rightly raised the point that contracts and skills are incredibly valuable. I know that there are workers from Alexander Dennis and supply chain businesses in his constituency, and I hope for growth further down the line for him.

I welcome the contribution from the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon). There is a strong presence from our friends in Northern Ireland today, which reflects the importance of Wrightbus to his constituents. My hon. Friend the Member for Paisley and Renfrewshire North (Alison Taylor) made a strong environmental case for buying British.

As a regular attendee at Murrayfield on match day, I am very well-acquainted with Lothian Buses. I recognise the orders they have made from Alexander Dennis, but, as for all franchisees, my hon. Friend the Member for Edinburgh North and Leith (Tracy Gilbert) will be unsurprised to hear me say that when they come to buying new parts for their fleet, they should look closer to home.

In conclusion, I still wish to raise the point about social value and recognise the urgency of where we are at. A lot of comments were made about the market share, but the point I made at the top of the debate is that we are buying electric and zero emission buses to a greater extent—which is quite right; they are cleaner, quieter transport—but less of those orders are going to every corner of the United Kingdom and less of them are being built in this country, despite a rising demand. It is important to recognise our constituents’ unhappiness with that. One of the most common complaints that I receive from constituents in Falkirk is that despite the effort, labour and history of bus manufacturing within our community, it is not British-built or Scottish-built buses that are picking them up and taking them from our communities into the centre of Falkirk. That is an important matter to address for our industry.

Today’s debate has been a call for ideas, and I will reiterate a few that I put forward. I restate my ask for a 30% social value metric, on the basis that it would be a material intervention both from national and local funding to procurement. I am aware that the Minister has managed to secure substantial progress, which I recognise and welcome, but I will not stop asking.

On the Procurement Act, I recognise the concerns and comments made about remote deactivation by the Minister. I recognise there is a limit to what will be publicised on that, but I will look diligently at the outcome. There is a sense of frustration that what we have at this stage is interim rather than confirmed. Although remote deactivation has utility, there are clearly grounds for investigation, which could perhaps be shared within proportionate boundaries. We have the muscle in the Procurement Act, which was introduced by the Labour party to address non-treaty state suppliers. If a credible risk of remote deactivation is established, I would like to see an official Government response.

I look forward to the publication of the 10-year bus pipeline. Both that and the UK Bus Manufacturing Expert Panel are signs of tangible progress from the Government, in recognising and listening to the perspectives of the UK manufacturing sector. It is important to have a sustained pipeline and a clear road map that can be met by British industry. I am aware that Alexander Dennis and Wrightbus are prepared to meet the demand of the British sector.

Sadly in the last few years, too many of our constituents have seen market share going in the wrong direction, especially in the ZEB market, because of medium-term and long-term decisions taken by the previous Government. They did not stand up for the sector, creating a problem that we have inherited. I think that is a good round of the doors in the 10 minutes I had, and I have nothing further to add. I thank all hon. Members.

Question put and agreed to.

Resolved,

That this House has considered UK bus manufacturing.

10:57

Sitting suspended.