Richard Holden (Conservative)

Our policy has been to support the introduction of zero-emission buses, which will reduce emissions, support manufacturing and improve the passenger experience. The Government are committed to supporting the introduction of 4,000 zero-emission buses and achieving an all zero-emission bus fleet across the UK. I am pleased to inform the House that since February 2020, an estimated 4,200 zero-emission buses have been funded across the UK, including Scotland, of which 1,600 are on the road.

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Simon Lightwood (Labour)

The Government’s commitment to deliver 4,000 zero-emission buses by the end of the Parliament lies in tatters and is in the realms of fantasy. No creative counting can hide the fact that there are still only six buses funded through the zero emission bus regional areas scheme on the roads. Will the Minister come clean with Parliament and passengers, and admit that the Government will fail in spectacular style in their promise to deliver those 4,000 zero-emission buses on the road? Will the Minister also take the opportunity to exercise a little humility and tell us how many buses have been ordered—not funding allocated, as that does not mean anything to anyone? How many will be manufactured in the UK? How many will realistically be on the road by the end of the Parliament?

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Richard Holden (Conservative)

If the hon. Gentleman had waited for a response to his written parliamentary question, which is coming later day, he would have noticed that 68 buses from the ZEBRA—zero emission bus regional areas—scheme are now on the road. He seems to have failed to realise that that is out of a total of 1,604 that are on the road, from out of the 4,233 that have been funded across the UK. He might want to ignore previous schemes, but it is very important that we look at schemes right across the country. On top of that, he asked how many had been ordered across the country: 2,464 have been ordered. We are making great progress towards the over 4,000 by the end of the Parliament. If he would like to provide some extra cash or outline a Labour policy that will do anything for bus users in this area, I would really love to hear it.

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The Secretary of State for Transport (Mr Mark Harper)

Tomorrow marks two years since the Government published their decarbonisation plan, our road map to clean travel. In that time, we have come a long way. We have agreed international targets for aviation decarbonisation, allowing aviation to grow without harming the climate. As the Minister of State, Department for Transport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Hereford and South Herefordshire (Jesse Norman), said, just last week at the International Maritime Organisation, we worked with our partners to secure the agreement of 174 other member states for net zero shipping by 2050. Our zero emission vehicle mandate will see this country continue to lead the world’s major economies in decarbonising road transport, opening the door to not only significant reductions in carbon emissions, but investment and manufacturing opportunities to turbocharge British business. On every mode of transport, we are working to cut our carbon emissions, grow the economy and business, and give people across the country the freedom to travel when they need to, in the way that suits them best, without having to worry about the environmental impact of doing so.

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Gavin Newlands (Paisley and Renfrewshire North) (SNP)

Scots are used to getting a poor and unreliable cross-border rail service, but recently the cross-border air service provided by British Airways, particularly from Glasgow, has been awful. That said, we need to get on with decarbonising aviation, so when will we see the airspace modernisation process simplified and accelerated, not decelerated? When will the Government bring forward price stability plans for sustainable aviation fuels, which everyone bar the Treasury knows has to happen?

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