UK Bus Manufacturing

Andrew Murrison Excerpts

Tuesday 27th January 2026 Westminster Hall

[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.

[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.

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[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.

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[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.