Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to increase the volume of exports of a) UK buses and b) UK technology and services within the bus manufacturing supply chain.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is focused on boosting the UK bus manufacturing sector’s long-term competitiveness and advancing zero-emission vehicles. Trade agreements will open new export opportunities, remove tariffs, and introduce flexible rules of origin, benefiting automotive businesses nationwide.
According to industry figures, nearly 80% of UK automotive production is exported, with direct export support available from DBT alongside dedicated automotive export campaign support, and through UK Export Finance, with £14.5 billion allocated for UK exports from UKEF in 2024/25.
The £2.5bn DRIVE35 programme accelerates R&D and commercial scale-up in strategic vehicle technologies, unlocking investment in zero-emission bus manufacturing and supply chains, increasing competitiveness in international markets.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of (a) women and (b) men eligible for NHS health checks have had those checks in the last year, broken down by parliamentary constituency in the East of England.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold data on NHS Health Checks broken down by sex or by parliamentary constituencies. Local authorities, who are responsible for commissioning the NHS Health Check, may hold this information locally.
The NHS Health Check should be offered once every five years to eligible people, which means if everyone expected was offered a check and completed one, we would expect 20% of the total eligible population to receive a check each year.
The following table shows the proportion of the total five-year eligible population who had an NHS Health Check in each local authority in the East of England in 2024-2025:
Area | Percentage of the total five-year eligible population who received an NHS Health Check in the year 2024/25 |
England | 9.0 |
East of England | 9.4 |
Cambridgeshire | 13.2 |
Luton | 11.9 |
Essex | 11.4 |
Norfolk | 11.0 |
Southend-on-Sea | 10.5 |
Thurrock | 8.8 |
Peterborough | 7.8 |
Hertfordshire | 7.2 |
Suffolk | 6.0 |
Central Bedfordshire | 5.4 |
Bedford | 5.3 |
To improve access to the programme we are piloting an online NHS Health Check so that people can undertake a check at a time and place convenient to them.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of public procurement reforms on the long-term competitiveness of the UK bus manufacturing sector; and what steps her Department is taking to maximise procurement opportunities for UK manufacturers.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government is committed to supporting UK jobs and industry, including the UK bus manufacturing sector. As part of this, we have consulted on further procurement reforms to boost domestic supply chains and create more opportunities for businesses, including the UK bus manufacturing sector.
Additionally, we are supporting Combined Mayoral Authorities to coordinate the procurement of buses through a Crown Commercial Service commercial agreement; supplemented by the soon to be published ten-year pipeline of future bus orders, which will provide much needed certainty to the UK manufacturing sector. This includes providing advice on using social value criteria that play directly to the strengths of domestic suppliers when procuring new buses, such as creating and retaining jobs.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking through the forthcoming 10-year bus procurement plan to support UK (a) bus manufacturers and (b) UK businesses in the bus manufacturing supply chain.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
On 13 March 2025 I launched the UK Bus Manufacturing Expert Panel, bringing together industry experts and local leaders to ensure that the UK remains a leader in bus manufacturing. The Panel is a forum to enable collaboration between Government, manufacturers and the wider industry.
The Panel has been developing a pipeline of future zero emission bus orders to provide better planning certainty to the sector – for both manufacturers and their supply chain. Data has been gathered on potential bus orders over the next ten years and will be published on GOV.UK shortly.
The procurement of zero emission buses is led by Mayoral Combined Authorities, Local Transport Authorities and bus operators.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question
To ask the hon. Member for Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney, representing the House of Commons Commission, pursuant to the Answer of 2 April 2025 to Question 40025 on Parliamentary Estate: Detergents, whether the list of cleaning products that are not certified as cruelty-free has changed since April 2025.
Answered by Nick Smith
The list of cleaning products used on the Parliament Estate that are not certified as cruelty-free has not changed since April 2025.
Our cleaning contractor continues to look for suitable cruelty-free alternatives.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions her Department has had with officials in (a) the Netherlands and (b) Slovenia on their plans to ban enriched cages for layer hens.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We have regular engagement with counterparts in other countries on farmed animal welfare issues, including on cages and other close confinement systems.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of removing the 50 kilometre regular service restriction currently applied to drivers aged 18 and 19 holding a category D licence on the number of qualified drivers.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government recognises that the bus and coach sector has had issues recruiting and retaining bus drivers in recent years, and is considering next steps following the consultation held on this issue in April 2024.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Annual Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals, Great Britain 2024; published on 23 October 2025, what assessment her Department has made of trends in the (a) number and (b) types of procedures carried out compared to the previous year.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
In 2024, there were 2.64 million regulated scientific procedures carried out in Great Britain involving living animals. This is a decrease of 1% on the previous year, and the lowest number since 2001.
The trends in the number of animals and types of procedures carried out each year are linked to the volume and nature of scientific work undertaken and products being brought to market.
The Home Office is responsible for regulating under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (ASPA) to assure compliance with protections afforded to animals used in science. Trends in requirements are the responsibility of other authorities. For instance, regulatory requirements for animal testing are the responsibility of the relevant regulators, such as the Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (for medicines) and Health and Safety Executive (for chemicals).
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent discussions he has had with his international counterparts on the Just Transition Work Programme ahead of COP30.
Answered by Katie White - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We are committed to working with all Parties to secure outcomes across the COP30 negotiations, including on just transitions, which are a critical opportunity to ensure that workers and communities benefit from the economic transition to net zero. The Secretary of State has spoken to a range of international counterparts over the last year regarding maximising the ambition of outcomes at COP30 this year.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department plans to provide financial support to small businesses to purchase zero emission heavy goods vehicles after 2026.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government has kickstarted the deployment of zero emission heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) and their supporting charging and fuelling infrastructure through initiatives such as the Plug-In Truck Grant (PiTG), the £30 million Depot Charging Scheme, and the up to £200 million Zero Emission HGV and Infrastructure Demonstrator (ZEHID).
These initiatives are open to all businesses, including small businesses, to support the uptake of zero emission HGVs by lowering upfront costs and supporting the provision of dedicated HGV charging infrastructure.
The PiTG remains in place until the end of the 2026/27 financial year. The ZEHID programme is funding hundreds of ZE HGVs and their associated recharging and refuelling sites by March 2026.
While the Depot Charging Scheme will close on or by 28 November 2025, by supporting necessary infrastructure, the funding will provide confidence to the logistics sector and support British businesses to transition to zero emission.