Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to support local councils to buy zero emissions buses produced in the UK.

As set out in the Autumn Budget and Spending Review 2021, £355 million of new funding has been made available for zero emission buses. £150 million of this funding has been made available for 2021-22 with the remaining funding available over the Spending Review period.

In addition, up to 900 zero emission buses and associated infrastructure will be supported through existing funding made available since February 2020 from the Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas (ZEBRA) scheme, the All Electric Bus Town or City scheme and the Ultra Low Emission Bus scheme. Local transport authorities have been able to apply for funding for zero emission buses under all these schemes.

Under the ZEBRA scheme, £70.8 million has been awarded so far to five local transport authorities: Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority, Leicester City Council, Kent County Council, Milton Keynes Council and Warrington Borough Council. The Department is in the process of formally awarding funding to these areas. A further 17 local transport authorities are working to produce business cases under the standard process of the scheme. The Department will award funding to successful business cases under the standard process in Spring 2022.

UK bus manufacturers are well placed to benefit from this funding for zero emission buses.