Exclusive:SNP ministers accused of 'highly concerning' lack of detail over electric buses after outsourcing to China

Scottish Labour MPs Euan Stainbank and Brian Leishman have written to Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes to ask for clarity around the third round of the Scottish Zero Emission Bus Challenge Fund (SCOTZEB3).

Under the previous scheme, more bus orders were awarded to manufacturers in China than Scotland.

Fears have been raised after bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis proposed closing its two Scots sites - until the Scottish Government pledged £4 million towards a furlough scheme.

Ms Forbes announced earlier this month that ScotZEB3 would be going ahead and cost £45 million, with applications opening in December for 12 weeks. This marked a change in plan as the Government was initially considering giving extra money to the earlier scheme.

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However, Mr Stainbank and Mr Leishman, whose constituencies include Scotland’s two remaining bus manufacturing sites in Camelon and Larbert, are unhappy about the limited extra information that has been provided on how the scheme will be structured, assessed or delivered.

The MPs have asked for the new bus scheme to ensure a fair and competitive process that supports Scottish industry and protects skilled jobs.

The number of buses that would be ordered and the criteria for winning the contracts have not yet been confirmed.

Mr Stainbank, the Falkirk MP, said: “Sadly, despite three months on from the Scottish Government’s commitment of additional clean transport funding following the welcome record transport funding settlement secured for Scotland by Scottish Labour MPs at the Spending Review, we are no further forward in knowing what this scheme will deliver.

“The last outcome of an SNP scheme for buses sent nearly four times as many orders to Chinese manufacturers than Scottish industry, risked 400 jobs and required them to be forced into unprecedented, temporary furlough in September.

“The detail available at this stage and the pace of this scheme’s delivery is highly concerning and I encourage the Deputy First Minister to provide far greater detail on how this scheme is being designed with Scotland’s industry in mind this time.”

Some 400 jobs were at risk when Alexander Dennis said it was going to close its Scottish sites, before the SNP Government stepped in.

Less than a third of the electric buses in ordered under previous fund, ScotZEB2, were built in Scotland.

Only 162 of the 523 (31 per cent) were made in the country.

Some 361 were made outside of Scotland, with 287 (55 per cent) of the buses built in China. This was higher than the 183 made in the whole of the UK.

Alexander Dennis received orders for 153 buses, which was 29 per cent of the overall scheme.

Alloa and Grangemouth MP Mr Leishman said: “It’s only taken a few months for the SNP Government to shift the goalposts and do what they always do - to deflect from their broken promises and shift blame onto the UK government.

“There are questions that the Scottish Government have to answer and with no scrutiny coming from the elected SNP representatives in Holyrood the workers at ADL [Alexander Dennis Limited] can rest assured that we as their local MPs will always be in their corner and will continue to press for answers from Holyrood.”

A Transport Scotland spokesperson said: “ScotZEB3 builds on the success of the ScotZEB programme to date, which has already delivered hundreds of zero-emission buses, coaches and cutting edge charging infrastructure across Scotland – with over £154m invested by the Scottish Government since 2020.

“Ministers have concluded that running a competitive ScotZEB 3 process is the fastest and most certain route to support new zero emission bus orders into the market. We are therefore taking forward ScotZEB3 – to introduce the additional funding to the market, and uplift this to £45m. This new phase will build directly on ScotZEB2 and will take the form of a fair and open competition, focused on operators of public service routes.”