Buses: Manufacturing Industries
Question
Alex Mayer
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of public procurement reforms on the long-term competitiveness of the UK bus manufacturing sector; and what steps her Department is taking to maximise procurement opportunities for UK manufacturers.
Answer
Simon LightwoodThe Government is committed to supporting UK jobs and industry, including the UK bus manufacturing sector. As part of this, we have consulted on further procurement reforms to boost domestic supply chains and create more opportunities for businesses, including the UK bus manufacturing sector.
Additionally, we are supporting Combined Mayoral Authorities to coordinate the procurement of buses through a Crown Commercial Service commercial agreement; supplemented by the soon to be published ten-year pipeline of future bus orders, which will provide much needed certainty to the UK manufacturing sector. This includes providing advice on using social value criteria that play directly to the strengths of domestic suppliers when procuring new buses, such as creating and retaining jobs.