Hansard

This afternoon, we are debating a motion on the United Kingdom Government’s Bus Services (No 2) Bill, and I appreciate the Parliamentary Bureau and the Parliament agreeing to schedule the debate.

Buses have a key part to play in cutting emissions from transport and contributing to meeting our world-leading climate change ambitions, which the Scottish Government is supporting by investing in bus priority infrastructure and encouraging a shift to zero-emission buses.

The UK Government’s Bus Services (No 2) Bill was introduced to the House of Lords in December 2024. Its intention is to empower local leaders in England to choose the bus operating model that works for their local area. The Transport (Scotland) Act 2019 already provides options for local authorities in Scotland to introduce franchising, local authority-run services and formal partnerships.

The bill contains a range of measures, most of which will apply in England only. However, some measures in the bill will apply to, or have some effect on, Scotland. As the provisions relating to those measures are concerned with reserved matters, the bill did not engage the legislative consent process when it was introduced.

The bill includes, among other things, powers to prevent the registration of new non-zero-emission buses on English local bus services from a date no earlier than 2030. The Conservative UK Government had previously consulted on proposals for a UK-wide phased ban on the purchase of new diesel buses. The new UK Labour Government moved away from a UK-wide approach, with the provisions of the bill applying to England only at introduction.

Emissions from bus services are included in the Scottish Government’s statutory commitment to achieve net zero by 2045, and the Scottish Government has been working with the industry to meet our ambitions for a fully decarbonised future for Scotland’s bus fleet. We are making good progress, with currently 14 per cent of all public service buses in Scotland being zero-emission buses, in comparison with a Great Britain average of 8.1 per cent. That has been achieved in partnership with the bus sector, and support has been provided through the Scottish zero-emission bus challenge—ScotZEB—fund and its predecessor, the Scottish ultra-low-emission bus scheme.

Now, legislation is required to build on that progress, maximise the benefits of the transition to a zero-emission bus fleet and provide market certainty for bus manufacturers. The UK Bus Services (No 2) Bill is currently in its final stage, the report stage having taken longer than anticipated to progress through the UK Parliament. We have therefore taken the opportunity to extend the zero-emission vehicle provisions to Scotland to support the Scottish Government’s policy direction on phasing out petrol and diesel buses.

We had been planning our own legislation to similar effect, but with limited time remaining in the current parliamentary session, it would have meant legislating early in the next session, so the opportunity to amend the UK bill is helpful. The timing of the UK Government bill means that the motion before us has had to come directly to the chamber, as the UK Parliament will be voting on the bill imminently.

As members will be aware, this is the final term of the current parliamentary session, and there are many other pieces of legislation to be progressed. We have sought this amendment to the UK legislation because there is a need for clearer direction on future decarbonisation of the bus network, as well as demand for zero-emission buses. Indeed, the Scottish Government has previously called for the UK Government to ban the import and sale of new non-zero-emission buses, and the amendment provides a vehicle to enable that sooner than our own legislation would.

The motion before the Parliament covers the clauses that would be introduced by the amendment, which—as is set out in the legislative consent memorandum—fall within the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament and alter the executive competence of Scottish ministers.

The Scottish Government recommends consent to the new clause that would be introduced by amendment NC38, on the use of zero-emission vehicles for local services in Scotland. The clause will prohibit the use of new non-zero emission buses on local bus services in Scotland—that is, those that are registered under section 6 of the Transport Act 1985—as well as on franchised services, from a date that will be set in regulations by Scottish ministers. That date cannot be before 2030.

The clause will also provide Scottish ministers with the ability to make provisions about documents that may be relied on to determine what is included in the tailpipe emissions from a vehicle and specify descriptions of vehicles and local services to which the prohibition will not apply, allowing Scottish ministers to implement legislation in a way that reflects the Scottish context.

I welcome the collaborative engagement between the Scottish Government and the UK Government on the development of the amendment. I am also conscious that tabling the amendment late in the bill’s Westminster passage has compressed the time that is available for the Scottish Parliament to consider the motion, and I am grateful for members’ consideration of it this afternoon.

The regulations that are required to set the date on which the prohibition will take effect must be made using the affirmative resolution procedure, ensuring accountability to the Scottish Parliament. Therefore, members will be provided with future opportunities to fully engage in the details of the arrangements. Prior to the implementation of any legislation, detailed consultation will take place with affected stakeholders, including bus operators, bus manufacturers and local transport authorities.

Working in collaboration with local authorities and bus operators is crucial to achieving our emission goals and creating a legacy for the future, providing much-needed certainty to operators of bus services and the manufacturers of vehicles. The powers that will be introduced by the amendment to the Bus Services (No 2) Bill will reinforce the Scottish Government’s climate change ambitions by setting out the timeline for restricting the use of non-zero emission buses on local bus services from a date that is no earlier than 2030. I ask the Parliament to support the motion in my name.

I move,

That the Parliament agrees, in relation to the Bus Services (No. 2) Bill, introduced in the House of Lords on 17 December 2024, and subsequently amended, that the five clauses affecting registration of zero-emission vehicles for local services in Scotland, so far as these matters fall within the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament and alter the executive competence of the Scottish Ministers, should be considered by the UK Parliament.