Asked by: Chris Elmore (Labour - Ogmore)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
What recent assessment she has made of the impact of the UK's departure from the EU on the music industry.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government continues to support the industry’s adaptation to new requirements, including through our Export Support Service and comprehensive GOV.UK guidance.
Visa and permit free touring routes are available in 24 of 27 Member States including key markets; France, Germany and Spain.
The Music Export Growth Scheme, tripled to £3.2 million until 2025, facilitates UK artist entry into new international markets. MEGS has successfully supported over 400 artist music export projects and SMEs since launching in 2013, with a return on investment of over £13 for every £1 received.
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the amount of cocaine that arrived in the UK in (1) 2023, and (2) 2024 to date, as a result of Balkan drug gangs and their criminal networks; and what steps they are taking, together with European partners, to (a) end the illegal activities associated with Balkan drug dealers, and (b) disrupt the supply of cocaine across Europe.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Illegal drugs devastate lives, ruin families and damage communities. The Government is committed to tackling these harms, including drug-related gang activity.
a) Reducing the threat posed by transnational Western Balkans organised crime groups (WBOCGs) is a government priority. We intensified the cooperation with our international partners to maximise the impact of our interventions WBOCGs wherever they are. Our engagements have already resulted in strategic partnerships with countries such as France, Germany, Italy, and Albania. In addition, the National Crime Agency (NCA) has well established relationships with law enforcement partners across Europe, as well as with Europol and Interpol, which include regular exchanges on organised crime with links to the Western Balkans. We are also seeking to improve criminal records sharing arrangements and law enforcement cooperation between the UK and the Western Balkan countries.
b) Our ten-year Drug Strategy, From Harm to Hope, sets out a whole system approach to combat illicit drugs. As part of this the Home Office has committed £300m of dedicated investment over three years (April 2022 – March 2025) to tackle every phase of the drug supply chain and make it considerably harder for criminal gangs to operate. With this funding we are supporting intelligence-led approaches to interdict and seize drugs as they cross the UK border and prevent criminal groups from bringing drugs to our streets. Across the whole of the UK, the NCA, Border Force, and local police are working in partnership, using intelligence and technology to secure our borders against drug trafficking. We are also funding upstream activity to tackle overseas drug supply, which is aimed at disrupting the criminal networks seeking to traffic illegal drugs to the UK. This includes building close enforcement partnerships with law enforcement agencies in mainland Europe.
The NCA has estimated that the UK consumes 117 tonnes of cocaine each year. We do not hold data on the amount of cocaine arriving in the UK as a result of Balkan OCGs. In the financial year ending 2023, police and Border Force seized 18.58 tonnes of powder cocaine, the second largest quantity of the substance since records began.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of supporting a permanent seat for the Republic of India on the United Nations Security Council.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government supports reform of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), to make it more representative of the world today. This includes our longstanding support for a permanent seat on the UNSC for India, as well as permanent African representation, and permanent seats for Germany, Japan and Brazil. We support an expansion of the non-permanent category of membership, taking the Security Council's total membership to somewhere in the mid-twenties. The UK Government regularly reiterates its support for India's permanent membership of the Security Council, including earlier this year in the UN General Assembly's recent round of intergovernmental negotiations on UNSC reform.
Asked by: Ian Paisley (Democratic Unionist Party - North Antrim)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many zero-emission buses had been ordered through the Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas (a) 1 and (b) 2 schemes as of 14 May 2024; and how many zero-emission buses are expected to be ordered through both schemes by the end of this Parliament.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
More than 5,200 buses have been funded across the UK since February 2020, with UK bus manufacturers supporting many of these. UK manufacturers have grown substantially in recent years as a result of their success in securing orders supported by £460 million of dedicated zero emission bus funding.
A breakdown of how much grant funding has been spent on UK-made ZEBs is unavailable. Of the approximately 1,300 ZEBs funded through the ZEBRA 1 programme, over 800 of these buses will be manufactured by UK bus manufacturers Wrightbus and Alexander Dennis. We look forward to UK manufacturers securing more orders through the recently announced ZEBRA 2 funding.
The following tables present information on the number of ZEBs funded and ordered through the ZEBRA programmes and the projects’ bus manufacturer by local transport authority. ZEBs produced and sold in the UK are supported by a global supply chain, therefore the below table outlines bus manufacturer’s location rather than country of origin. The numbers in this table are not official statistics: they are based on the latest information available and are therefore indicative and subject to change.
ZEBRA 1 | |||
Local Transport Authority | Number of buses funded | Number of buses ordered | Bus manufacturer & Location |
Blackpool Council | 90 | 0 | Bus manufacturer subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority | 30 | 30 | Volvo (Sweden) |
City of York Council | 53 | 53 | Wrightbus (UK) |
Greater Manchester Combined Authority | 170 | 170 | Volvo (Sweden) |
Hertfordshire County Council | 27 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Kent County Council | 33 | 33 | 5 – Volvo (Sweden) |
Leicester City Council | 116 | 116 | 110 – Wrightbus (UK) |
Norfolk County Council | 70 | 70 | Wrightbus (UK) |
North Yorkshire County Council | 39 | 39 | 20 – EvoBus/Mercedes (Germany) 19 – Alexander Dennis Ltd (UK) |
Nottingham City Council | 62 | 48 | 48 - Pelican/Yutong (UK/China) |
Oxfordshire County Council | 159 | 159 | 104 - Wrightbus (UK) |
Portsmouth City Council & Hampshire County Council | 62 | 62 | Wrightbus (UK) |
South Yorkshire Combined Authority | 27 | 27 | 4 – Alexander Dennis Ltd (UK) |
Warrington Borough Council | 105 | 105 | Volvo (Sweden) |
West Midlands Combined Authority | 124 | 0 | Bus manufacturer subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
West Yorkshire Combined Authority | 146 | 146 | 131 – Wrightbus (UK) |
| 1,308 | 1,053 |
|
ZEBRA 2 | |||
Local Transport Authority | Number of buses funded | Number of buses ordered | Bus manufacturer & Location |
Brighton and Hove City Council | 16 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Cornwall Council | 8 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Derbyshire County Council | 57 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Devon County Council | 41 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Essex County Council | 55 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Gloucestershire County Council | 58 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Hull City and East Riding of Yorkshire Council | 40 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Isle of Wight Council | 22 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Leicestershire County Council | 46 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Liverpool City Region Combined Authority | 58 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
North Somerset Council | 24 | 24 | Bus manufacturer TBC |
Nottinghamshire County Council | 23 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Plymouth City Council | 50 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Reading Borough Council | 24 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Somerset Council | 25 | 25 | Bus manufacturer TBC |
Staffordshire County Council | 17 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Surrey County Council | 19 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Tees Valley Combined Authority | 62 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Torbay Council | 49 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Transport North East | 43 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Warwickshire County Council | 27 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
West Northamptonshire Council | 51 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
West of England Mayoral Combined Authority | 74 | 74 | Bus manufacturer TBC |
West Sussex County Council | 43 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Wiltshire Council | 23 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Asked by: Ian Paisley (Democratic Unionist Party - North Antrim)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to encourage local authorities to buy new zero-emission buses through the Zero Emission Bus Regional Area schemes.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
More than 5,200 buses have been funded across the UK since February 2020, with UK bus manufacturers supporting many of these. UK manufacturers have grown substantially in recent years as a result of their success in securing orders supported by £460 million of dedicated zero emission bus funding.
A breakdown of how much grant funding has been spent on UK-made ZEBs is unavailable. Of the approximately 1,300 ZEBs funded through the ZEBRA 1 programme, over 800 of these buses will be manufactured by UK bus manufacturers Wrightbus and Alexander Dennis. We look forward to UK manufacturers securing more orders through the recently announced ZEBRA 2 funding.
The following tables present information on the number of ZEBs funded and ordered through the ZEBRA programmes and the projects’ bus manufacturer by local transport authority. ZEBs produced and sold in the UK are supported by a global supply chain, therefore the below table outlines bus manufacturer’s location rather than country of origin. The numbers in this table are not official statistics: they are based on the latest information available and are therefore indicative and subject to change.
ZEBRA 1 | |||
Local Transport Authority | Number of buses funded | Number of buses ordered | Bus manufacturer & Location |
Blackpool Council | 90 | 0 | Bus manufacturer subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority | 30 | 30 | Volvo (Sweden) |
City of York Council | 53 | 53 | Wrightbus (UK) |
Greater Manchester Combined Authority | 170 | 170 | Volvo (Sweden) |
Hertfordshire County Council | 27 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Kent County Council | 33 | 33 | 5 – Volvo (Sweden) |
Leicester City Council | 116 | 116 | 110 – Wrightbus (UK) |
Norfolk County Council | 70 | 70 | Wrightbus (UK) |
North Yorkshire County Council | 39 | 39 | 20 – EvoBus/Mercedes (Germany) 19 – Alexander Dennis Ltd (UK) |
Nottingham City Council | 62 | 48 | 48 - Pelican/Yutong (UK/China) |
Oxfordshire County Council | 159 | 159 | 104 - Wrightbus (UK) |
Portsmouth City Council & Hampshire County Council | 62 | 62 | Wrightbus (UK) |
South Yorkshire Combined Authority | 27 | 27 | 4 – Alexander Dennis Ltd (UK) |
Warrington Borough Council | 105 | 105 | Volvo (Sweden) |
West Midlands Combined Authority | 124 | 0 | Bus manufacturer subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
West Yorkshire Combined Authority | 146 | 146 | 131 – Wrightbus (UK) |
| 1,308 | 1,053 |
|
ZEBRA 2 | |||
Local Transport Authority | Number of buses funded | Number of buses ordered | Bus manufacturer & Location |
Brighton and Hove City Council | 16 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Cornwall Council | 8 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Derbyshire County Council | 57 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Devon County Council | 41 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Essex County Council | 55 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Gloucestershire County Council | 58 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Hull City and East Riding of Yorkshire Council | 40 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Isle of Wight Council | 22 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Leicestershire County Council | 46 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Liverpool City Region Combined Authority | 58 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
North Somerset Council | 24 | 24 | Bus manufacturer TBC |
Nottinghamshire County Council | 23 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Plymouth City Council | 50 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Reading Borough Council | 24 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Somerset Council | 25 | 25 | Bus manufacturer TBC |
Staffordshire County Council | 17 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Surrey County Council | 19 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Tees Valley Combined Authority | 62 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Torbay Council | 49 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Transport North East | 43 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Warwickshire County Council | 27 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
West Northamptonshire Council | 51 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
West of England Mayoral Combined Authority | 74 | 74 | Bus manufacturer TBC |
West Sussex County Council | 43 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Wiltshire Council | 23 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Asked by: Ian Paisley (Democratic Unionist Party - North Antrim)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many and what proportion of the buses funded through Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas (a) 1 and (b) 2 schemes are (i) UK and (ii) non-UK-made, broken down by country of origin; and how much Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas funding has been spent on UK-made zero-emission buses as of 14 May 2024.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
More than 5,200 buses have been funded across the UK since February 2020, with UK bus manufacturers supporting many of these. UK manufacturers have grown substantially in recent years as a result of their success in securing orders supported by £460 million of dedicated zero emission bus funding.
A breakdown of how much grant funding has been spent on UK-made ZEBs is unavailable. Of the approximately 1,300 ZEBs funded through the ZEBRA 1 programme, over 800 of these buses will be manufactured by UK bus manufacturers Wrightbus and Alexander Dennis. We look forward to UK manufacturers securing more orders through the recently announced ZEBRA 2 funding.
The following tables present information on the number of ZEBs funded and ordered through the ZEBRA programmes and the projects’ bus manufacturer by local transport authority. ZEBs produced and sold in the UK are supported by a global supply chain, therefore the below table outlines bus manufacturer’s location rather than country of origin. The numbers in this table are not official statistics: they are based on the latest information available and are therefore indicative and subject to change.
ZEBRA 1 | |||
Local Transport Authority | Number of buses funded | Number of buses ordered | Bus manufacturer & Location |
Blackpool Council | 90 | 0 | Bus manufacturer subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority | 30 | 30 | Volvo (Sweden) |
City of York Council | 53 | 53 | Wrightbus (UK) |
Greater Manchester Combined Authority | 170 | 170 | Volvo (Sweden) |
Hertfordshire County Council | 27 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Kent County Council | 33 | 33 | 5 – Volvo (Sweden) |
Leicester City Council | 116 | 116 | 110 – Wrightbus (UK) |
Norfolk County Council | 70 | 70 | Wrightbus (UK) |
North Yorkshire County Council | 39 | 39 | 20 – EvoBus/Mercedes (Germany) 19 – Alexander Dennis Ltd (UK) |
Nottingham City Council | 62 | 48 | 48 - Pelican/Yutong (UK/China) |
Oxfordshire County Council | 159 | 159 | 104 - Wrightbus (UK) |
Portsmouth City Council & Hampshire County Council | 62 | 62 | Wrightbus (UK) |
South Yorkshire Combined Authority | 27 | 27 | 4 – Alexander Dennis Ltd (UK) |
Warrington Borough Council | 105 | 105 | Volvo (Sweden) |
West Midlands Combined Authority | 124 | 0 | Bus manufacturer subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
West Yorkshire Combined Authority | 146 | 146 | 131 – Wrightbus (UK) |
| 1,308 | 1,053 |
|
ZEBRA 2 | |||
Local Transport Authority | Number of buses funded | Number of buses ordered | Bus manufacturer & Location |
Brighton and Hove City Council | 16 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Cornwall Council | 8 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Derbyshire County Council | 57 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Devon County Council | 41 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Essex County Council | 55 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Gloucestershire County Council | 58 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Hull City and East Riding of Yorkshire Council | 40 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Isle of Wight Council | 22 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Leicestershire County Council | 46 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Liverpool City Region Combined Authority | 58 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
North Somerset Council | 24 | 24 | Bus manufacturer TBC |
Nottinghamshire County Council | 23 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Plymouth City Council | 50 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Reading Borough Council | 24 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Somerset Council | 25 | 25 | Bus manufacturer TBC |
Staffordshire County Council | 17 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Surrey County Council | 19 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Tees Valley Combined Authority | 62 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Torbay Council | 49 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Transport North East | 43 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Warwickshire County Council | 27 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
West Northamptonshire Council | 51 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
West of England Mayoral Combined Authority | 74 | 74 | Bus manufacturer TBC |
West Sussex County Council | 43 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Wiltshire Council | 23 | 0 | Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will consider adopting a similar approach to visa and passport arrangements with Italy and Germany as they have with France.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
At the Leaders’ Summit in Paris on 10 March 2023, as part of an overall agreement on migration reached with France, the UK committed to ease the travel of school groups to the UK by making changes to documentary requirements for schoolchildren on organised trips from France. This agreement is specific to France.
We would consider negotiating similar arrangements with other countries if they approached us in the same context.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions the UK–German Cultural Commission has had regarding youth mobility and school trips since its reinstatement in 2023.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK successfully hosted the UK-Germany Cultural Commission on 7 May. The Minister for Europe co-chaired the event at Lancaster House with German Foreign Office Minister of State Katja Keul, where - together with a range of UK and German cultural organisations - they celebrated the strong links between the two countries. They also discussed a range of topics, including mobility between the UK and Germany, and opportunities for young people.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to engage in dialogue through the UK–German Cultural Commission to facilitate youth mobility and school trips between the UK and Germany.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK successfully hosted the UK-Germany Cultural Commission on 7 May. The Minister for Europe co-chaired the event at Lancaster House with German Foreign Office Minister of State Katja Keul, where - together with a range of UK and German cultural organisations - they celebrated the strong links between the two countries. They also discussed a range of topics, including mobility between the UK and Germany, and opportunities for young people.
Asked by: Simon Lightwood (Labour (Co-op) - Wakefield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 18 April 2024 to Question 21868 on Buses: Carbon Emissions, how many and what proportion of the buses allocated funding under the Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas scheme 1 (a) are on the road in each local transport authority and (b) (i) have been and (ii) will be manufactured in the UK.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
This Government has invested £410m into the Zero Emission Bus programmes since 2020, which has funded over 2,200 buses across England.
The Zero Emission Bus Regional Area (ZEBRA) 1 programme was launched in 2021 and awarded £270m funding to 16 local transport authorities (LTAs) in England (outside of London).
ZEBs produced and sold in the UK are supported by a global supply chain; the below table outlines bus manufacturer’s location. The numbers in this table are not official statistics: they are based on the latest information available and are therefore indicative and subject to change.
ZEBRA 1 | ||
Local Transport Authority | Number of buses on the road | Bus manufacturer & Location |
Blackpool Council | 0 | Bus manufacturer subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority | 30 | Volvo (Sweden) |
City of York Council | 53 | Wrightbus (UK) |
Greater Manchester Combined Authority | 0 | Volvo (Sweden) |
Hertfordshire County Council | 0 | Bus manufacturer subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Kent County Council | 0 | Volvo (Sweden) |
Leicester City Council | 116 | 110 – Wrightbus (UK) |
Norfolk County Council | 68 | Wrightbus (UK) |
North Yorkshire County Council | 0 | EvoBus/Mercedes (Germany) Alexander Dennis Ltd (UK) |
Nottingham City Council | 24 | Pelican/Yutong (UK/China) |
Oxfordshire County Council | 56 | Wrightbus (UK) |
Portsmouth City Council & Hampshire County Council | 62 | Wrightbus (UK) |
South Yorkshire Combined Authority | 27 | 4 – Alexander Dennis Ltd (UK) |
Warrington Borough Council | 105 | Volvo (Sweden) |
West Midlands Combined Authority | 124 | Bus manufacturer subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
West Yorkshire Combined Authority | 146 | 131 – Wrightbus (UK) |