Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Bus Manufacturing: Scotland 2026-07-16

Thursday 16 July 2026 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 1 Partly answered 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • The Government is providing 73.2 million to support the purchase of 484 zero emission vehicles to boost the UK bus manufacturing sector, including in Scotland.
  • The UK Government is working with the industry and local leaders to ensure greater certainty for the bus manufacturing sector in Scotland.
  • Through the UK bus manufacturing expert panel, mayoral combined authorities have agreed to a commitment that 10% of social value criteria will apply in all future bus procurement exercises.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Euan Stainbank Lab
Scotland Business & Trade
Context

None provided, but the question suggests concern about the competitiveness of the UK bus manufacturing sector.

Question

What steps she is taking to support bus manufacturing in Scotland?

Answer from Simon Lightwood

The Government want a vibrant and competitive UK bus manufacturing sector, including in Scotland. That is why we are providing £73.2 million to support the purchase of a further 484 zero emission vehicles, and working with the industry and local leaders to provide greater certainty through our long-term order pipeline.

Answered
Was this summary accurate? Tell us

How accurate was this summary? (1 = poor, 5 = spot on)

Q2 Euan Stainbank Lab
Transport Scotland Business & Trade
Context

The MP highlights legal action against the SNP Scottish Government over the ScotZEB3 grant scheme, which favoured Chinese manufacturers and led to job losses in Scotland.

Question

As legal action is taken against the SNP Scottish Government for the ScotZEB3 grant scheme, which inexplicably saw more expensive orders go to Chinese manufacturers and cheaper ones to Falkirk—the Government and mayoral combined authorities must take heed of the exponentially rising Chinese market share, which has destroyed 115 Scottish jobs in my constituency off the back of the grant scheme. What more will Transport Ministers do, alongside their colleagues in the Cabinet Office and the Department for Business and Trade, to send an explicit message to those who are purchasing buses with taxpayer cash that they should be buying British?

Answer from Simon Lightwood

I share my hon. Friend's commitment to UK bus manufacturing. I am delighted that through the UK bus manufacturing expert panel, mayoral combined authorities have agreed to a commitment that 10% of social value criteria will apply in all future bus procurement exercises. That means that when procuring buses, the positive impact that a manufacturer has on society, the environment and/or communities will be taken into account. We will continue to work with the bus sector to promote UK bus manufacturing.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific ask about sending an explicit message was not directly addressed.

Was this summary accurate? Tell us

How accurate was this summary? (1 = poor, 5 = spot on)