Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to facilitate the testing of hydrogen-fuelled road transport in the UK.

While the global market for hydrogen vehicles is at an earlier stage of development than plug-in electric vehicles, the UK is well placed to be a leader in hydrogen and fuel cell powered transportation due to our high-quality engineering and manufacturing capability. Our approach to delivering long-term ambitions are technology neutral, supporting hydrogen where the market favours its use. The Government’s £23m Hydrogen for Transport Programme is increasing the uptake of fuel cell electric vehicles and growing the number of publicly accessible hydrogen refuelling stations. The programme is delivering new refuelling stations, upgrading some existing stations and deploying hundreds of new hydrogen vehicles. The £48m Ultra Low Emission Bus Scheme, and its predecessor the £41m Low Emission Bus Scheme supported hydrogen buses and refuelling infrastructure in London, Birmingham and Brighton.