Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to 'Public Procurement: Growing British industry, jobs and skills Government response to consultation' on the 26th of March 2026, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of recognising bus manufacturing as an industry critical for National Security.

The package I announced commits the government to publishing new guidance for departments on the appropriate use of the national security exemption in the Procurement Act 2023 when procuring from the AI, steel, shipbuilding and energy infrastructure sectors.

These four pathfinder sectors were selected based on their status as critical industries where disruptions in international markets have exposed vulnerabilities that threaten national interests and overall stability. We are initially focussing on these sectors because we believe that sovereign supply chain resilience is a critical factor in supporting national security.

I want to reassure that while bus manufacturing is not one of the sectors initially envisaged for the national security guidance, the wider package of procurement measures can benefit this sector, including, where relevant, changes to social value and its focus on jobs and communities. You will also be aware that Mayoral Transport Authorities have agreed to a minimum of 10% social value weighting in all future bus procurement tenders and a social value procurement working group has been set up to work with Mayoral Transport Authorities to share best practices on social value.

I am also in discussion with the department for transport on what further steps we can take to support British bus manufacturers.