Euan Stainbank
MP for Falkirk · Labour · United Kingdom
“As legal action is taken against the SNP Scottish Government for the ScotZEB3 grant scheme, which inexplicably saw more expensive orders go to Chinese manufacturers and cheaper ones to Falkirk—no wonder SNP Members have not showed up this morning—the Government and mayoral combined authorities must take heed of the exponentially rising Ch…”
“Many constituents have reported significant delays in requests from the DVLA for medical information. My constituent Graham, for whom it took five months from first contact with the DVLA to resolve his inquiry, reported that the delay has had a significant impact on his mental health due to the loss of independence.”
“In Falkirk, discussion of asylum policy has taken unprecedented command of our local debate. What has occurred in our community is an example of the failure of the past Government to provide solutions that work in the best interests of communities across the country, or the best interests of asylum seekers fleeing persecution and conflict…”
“The challenge that the Bill presents us with is finding a way to re-establish public confidence in an asylum system that many of my constituents have told me they are questioning.”
“They ground processing to a halt. They forgot about asylum seekers, and forgot, or simply did not care, about communities like Falkirk, which hosted them. We saw costs balloon, and we failed to stop the rise in the number of people coming through illegal routes.”
“I do not believe that we can deal with those concerns tonight by abandoning the essential objectives that the Bill seeks to pursue. If we vote against the Bill, we throw away an opportunity for asylum appeals reform.”
The complete record
Every one of 425 lines we hold for Euan Stainbank, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 2 of 9.
“I welcome the Government’s steel strategy. The welcome ambition for the steel sector will be shared by industrial communities across the country, especially in Motherwell. Industrial communities such as those in Falkirk and the Forth valley must see similar ambition. Today is the one-year anniversary of the publication of Project Willow, so will the Secretary of State commit from the Dispatch Box to redoubling his Department’s engagement with prospective investors in Grangemouth, trade unions, the Grangemouth future industry board and local Members, so that the jobs and industry that the project promised our community materialise at pace over the coming years?”
“It is imperative that this support reaches the most vulnerable heating oil households, such as those in the Braes villages in my constituency, who have seen astronomical price spikes. Can the Minister confirm whether the Scottish Government have yet signalled that they will administer this Government’s funding for Scotland’s vulnerable heating oil households nationally or via local authorities—and if they have not, will he ask John Swinney to get a move on?”
“Given the global energy crisis, manufacturers reliant on gas will struggle with the recent spikes in energy costs. Will the Secretary of State confirm whether his Department is considering a transitional dual fuel discount, alongside the British industrial competitiveness scheme, for industries that will continue to use gas for the foreseeable future?”
“Powering Futures is a fantastic social enterprise based in Falkirk, and its oven-ready project will deliver at least £1.6 million in quantifiable social outcomes, including addressing youth unemployment in every local authority in Scotland. Funders have been identified, so will the Secretary of State meet me to discuss what support his Department may be able to offer Powering Futures?”
“Does the Minister share my concern that, rather than increasing funding for Historic Environment Scotland, the Scottish Government appear to have cut it by £3.7 million in last week’s Budget?”
“There are still serious questions to answer on the administration of the civil service pension scheme. When my constituent Campell tragically died in April last year, his wife, Gaynor, waited months to receive the death in service payment; in December, they found out that MyCSP had paid it into the wrong bank account. I have written to the Minister about this case. Will he intervene to ensure that Capita pay Gaynor without further delay?”
“A constituent has been on a waiting list for over two years with no end in sight. After waiting this long without progress, they wrote to me about their referral being moved to an equidistant clinic with shorter waits, yet NHS Forth Valley has as yet been unable to facilitate that. Does the Leader of the House agree that everyone, including trans people such as my constituent, deserves timely access to the right healthcare?”
“I appreciate the Secretary of State’s incredibly important update to the House, especially on energy security. There have been reports in the media of PetroChina being barred from all exports of diesel and gasoline by the Chinese Government. With PetroChina’s co-ownership of the Grangemouth import terminal, and following its role in the closure of Scotland’s only oil refinery last year, what assurances can the Secretary of State provide my constituents on the security of imported supply coming through Grangemouth?”
“It will aid the Government’s growth commitment to the aviation sector alongside the progress being made on airspace modernisation.”
“As a fellow member of the Bill Committee with my hon. Friend the Member for Harlow (Chris Vince), I welcome the return of the Bill to this place. Its progress is an example of the common-sense approach of this Labour Government. With airport expansion and infrastructure expansion—such as, perhaps, the Glasgow airport rail link—necessary to support growth in every corner of the United Kingdom, and given the need to decarbonise the sector without pricing the ordinary Brit out of their holiday, the Government’s approach to aviation and this Bill has been the right one. While some Opposition Members—absent from their Benches—seem keen to condemn aviation and its economic benefits to the dustbin of history, this Bill takes the right approach.”
“Next week, SNP-controlled Falkirk council proposes to cut school bus services from communities such as Shieldhill, Hallglen and Maddiston—bus services that get bairns from some of our most rural and deprived communities to school on time. Hundreds of working parents in Falkirk responded to the budget consultation, as they are worried sick about the impact on their bairns’ safety, wellbeing and attendance at school. Will the Leader of the House join those families and me in calling on Falkirk council to reject this cut?”
“T4. Many people in Falkirk face barriers to accessing treatment because they are juggling often contradictory bits of paper regarding appointments across different health boards. What assessment has the Minister made of this Government’s NHS digital transformation strategy for improving treatment, compared with the strategy being pursued by the Scottish Government for the healthcare that is available to my constituents?”
“In Falkirk, an allocation from Labour’s impact fund has addressed the funding gap that would otherwise have risked the delivery of Scottish Canals’ national centre of excellence for canals and traditional skills. Will the Minister visit this regeneration project once it is completed to celebrate this Labour Government’s investment in supporting Falkirk?”
“I declare an interest as chair of the British buses APPG. The previous Government’s failure to provide any certainty on the ZEV mandate was not good for British industry or the environment, and I welcome this Government’s progress. We must acknowledge that the ZEV mandate must retain a degree of flexibility, as the Secretary of State described, to enable the transition of our domestic bus manufacturing sector. Prior to the imminent publication of the 10-year bus plan, can the Minister outline what further measures the Government are considering to support the transition of our domestic bus manufacturers?”
“To transition away from fossil fuels, we need zero emission vehicles on the road. Manufacturers such as Alexander Dennis should be leading that transition, although it currently operates with a gas-intensive production process. To stay competitive against imports, those manufacturers need greater support. The British industrial competitiveness scheme is hugely welcome as it will reduce industrial electricity costs, but will the Minister consider supporting a dual fuel discount that includes the cost of gas to support the automotive advanced manufacturing sector, including Alexander Dennis?”
“The Tories’ asylum hotels have divided communities and endangered vulnerable people in communities such as Falkirk, but we must be honest: the Inverness barracks proposal is controversial, and will aggravate community tensions in Scotland rather than cool them if there is no corresponding urgent move to close asylum hotels in Scotland. Will the Secretary of State join me this month in visiting Kemper Avenue to see at first hand why the Cladhan must now be fairly prioritised for closure in the hotel exit plan?”
“Once the backlog and crisis is cleared, the recovery team must have a clear mandate to consider whether reversing this failed privatisation, as my right hon. Friend the Member for Hayes and Harlington (John McDonnell) referred to it, is the right way forward. Once the crisis is resolved, all contractual options available to the Cabinet Office must be considered. I have heard that this contract is stronger than the preceding MyCSP contract. Will the Minister say in what way it is stronger, and what further actions will be considered once the priority work for people who are sitting waiting on their pensions is completed?”
“This situation is directly responsible for their financial hardship and for aggravating the emotional devastation that they feel. Those facing hardship and crisis and those at imminent risk of retirement with no income must be prioritised in the backlog. I have written, and will continue to write to both the Minister and Capita with each of their stories. I welcome the interest-free hardship loans of up to £5,000 and £10,000 for those in exceptional circumstances secured by Labour Ministers. Those must move at pace for those in Falkirk and across the country who urgently need support. Capita must urgently state what additional resources it is providing to clear the backlog so that the crisis is fixed and paid for by the taxpayer-funded contractor, and not any more than is necessary by the taxpayer swooping in to the rescue.”
“Transitional arrangements between MyCSP and Capita failed to plan for the scale of the backlog and the required additional staffing, as the Public Accounts Committee warned in October. Those warnings were not heeded, and that has had human consequences. Mary was supposed to retire with her pension last week, but without any time to make alternative plans and after hours on the phone, she was callously told to wait her turn, months after applying and of the ball being firmly in Capita’s court. After a workplace injury forced Andrew to retire after 40 years guarding Scotland’s prisons, he has not received his pension or the capability payment tied to his scheme. Multiple more constituents have been waiting nine months and counting to receive death in service payments following their spouses’ tragically passing away.”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Lewell. Those who serve the public deserve dignity and respect as they go into retirement, but, after a lifetime putting their shoulder to the wheel to keep the country running, that is not what my constituents in Falkirk who have been impacted by these delays feel that they are receiving. They feel utterly let down by MyCSP and Capita. When Capita won the contract under the Tories, it promised the world—improvements to service levels and response times—and justified proposed staff reductions through a more efficient IT system. Given the value of the contract and Capita’s reputation at the time, following the management of the teachers’ pension scheme, serious questions arise for the Tory then-Ministers about whether the contract should have been signed off in November 2023.”
“The Scottish Parliament is this week considering a Bill by the fantastic Scottish Labour MSP Monica Lennon that would enable the prosecution of climate criminals who cause widespread, long-term or irreversible damage to our environment. What consideration have Ministers given to consulting on making ecocide a criminal offence across the United Kingdom?”
“As MPs, we are hearing directly from providers—and workers—that a blunt transition to 10-year to 15-year ILR timescales for social workers before further work is done to recruit a sustainable workforce risks leaving one of the most important sectors in our country exposed in terms of recruiting critical workers.”
“The concern they have is simple: employers typically only sponsor when they need to, and the recent rise in those coming on social care visas is due to the pay being unattractive to domestic-born workers. Every employer at my roundtable cited immovable difficulties in recruiting locally as the reason that they were pursuing sponsorship. That is unlikely to improve radically given the setting of successive paltry living wage levels at well shy of £15 an hour, well short of a sustainable wage for attracting domestic workers en masse reliably, and morally insufficient for anyone who contributes by working in such a valuable profession. This is a push without a pull.”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Lewell. I will confine my remarks to the impact of the ILR proposals on social care in my constituency in Scotland. Around 25% of social care workers come from other countries. We need social care staff who live, work and breathe care, and, with an ageing population, we need more of them. Most of those staff have diligently, and with a smile on their face, taken care of our families. None of them have received a good deal—or one that reflects their contributions—over the last few years, with inadequate pay offers often limited to the living wage. I held a roundtable in November on that subject with Falkirk’s care sector. I thank the fantastic local social care workers who travelled down to London to speak with me before Christmas.”
“But as we seek to invest in upskilling a generation, we must invest in increasing social care pay to a competitive level, so that we can deliver for that sector, and not risk the sector by trading off the short-term welfare of those who work in it as we pursue reducing net migration.”
“I agree with my hon. Friend’s point, and am glad that he managed to get it on the record. I also reflect that there will be an economic impact on social care if we are not able to attract a sufficient domestic workforce to compensate for those who would leave the country. Those changes would risk deterring those already in the sector from staying. Failing to be able to replace them risks worsening standards for those within the industry by extending their unbreakable tie to a sole sponsoring employer or occupation. The Government are right to pursue measures that reduce net migration, and to address the lack of public consent in the immigration system due to the scattergun rise in net migration under the previous Government, who promised the exact opposite for years.”
“My constituent Muhammad is a young man educated at a local school and hoping to go on a school trip in a couple of weeks with his classmates. His application for citizenship was received by the Home Office in November 2024, but a decision is now eight months late, and if he went on this trip, it would void the application. Can the Leader of the House encourage Home Office colleagues to expedite an outcome to this delayed application, so that this young man can attend this vital educational trip?”
“I hope for an objective outcome that supports Scottish manufacturing. Members of Parliament will recognise the inherent pride when they spot something built in their community when out and about elsewhere in the country. When the Mayor of Greater Manchester’s fantastic Bee Network was launched, I was proud to note that there were more buses built by workers in Falkirk than from any other place in the world.”
“I applied for this debate, first and foremost, having been born and raised in a community that has seen immense benefit from the UK bus manufacturing industry. The goliath industrial site, which stretches across a large section of Glasgow Road in Camelon, has been the origin of Scottish-built buses for decades. A stone’s throw away is the sleek, relatively new modern site at Larbert, which hosts the global headquarters of Alexander Dennis. I had a welcome visit to Alexander Dennis’s “meet the fleet” exhibition last week for prospective bidders to Transport Scotland’s ScotZEB3 scheme. I tentatively await the outcome of that exercise and welcome Fiona Hyslop MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Transport, writing to me earlier this month to confirm when the announcement of successful bids is to be made.”
“I beg to move, That this House has considered UK bus manufacturing. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dr Murrison. I draw attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests and my role as co-chair of the all-party parliamentary group for British buses, alongside the hon. and learned Member for North Antrim (Jim Allister). There were 694 more zero emission buses registered in Britain in 2025 compared with 2024, a 38% rise in the number on the road in one year. There were 167 fewer built in the United Kingdom in 2025 compared with 2024. When we need more zero emission buses, when operators and local authorities are buying more buses but there are fewer orders going to factories in Falkirk, Ballymena, Scarborough, Aldershot and across the country, we know there is a problem, and it did not start yesterday.”
“A business selling horses and carts at the beginning of the 20th century could have continued to sell the carts and might have done well in the short term, but eventually, if it did not transition to automobiles, it would have gone out of business.”
“Franchising is certainly an opportunity for our British bus manufacturing sector. I will speak later about procurement and the opportunities it presents for us to go even further, and potentially correct some of the examples that are not as great as the fantastic work done by the Mayor of Greater Manchester in that regard. This debate is unlike the last one held in Westminster Hall prior to the election in 2024. This is not a debate about the virtues of the current push to decarbonise transport. It is an immutable fact that the shift in demand from both operators and public subsidy is towards cleaner and quieter transport. For the UK manufacturing sector, we need to recognise that the transition to zero emission buses and away from diesel is happening.”
“They chose to weight properly when buying buses, with procurement teams looking at what could be achieved when social value is appropriately weighted. These successes and failures are largely down to how the schemes are set up. It seems entirely right to me that, because many are funded wholly with our constituents’ tax money, we should maximise the muscle of the state to make sure that as much of it as possible ends up benefiting our constituents, within the limits of our World Trade Organisation obligations.”
“The problem here is that they were not weighted in the procurement exercises, despite their being required only of British manufacturers. That created an unlevel playing field, tilted in the wrong direction. We have heard testimonials to the origin of London’s public transport system in the labour of Scottish, English and Northern Irish workers, who now contend with, and are contradicted by, the rapidly increasing portions of Transport for London infrastructure coming from elsewhere in the world. It does not have to be this way. For example, as my hon. Friend the Member for Rochdale (Paul Waugh) alluded to, the Greater Manchester and Liverpool City Region combined authorities, when franchising their bus networks, bought nationally.”
“That created an existential threat to 400 jobs and the Scottish bus manufacturing sector last year, with the First Minister being informed by the company in August 2024 that the outcome of the scheme appeared to show little regard for Scottish manufacturing, with unprecedented action being required in September to prevent the two factories from closing for good. In addition, 130 jobs were lost in 2024, in part because of the aggravated issue of conditions being placed on Scottish Government funding, compelling adherence to advanced Fair Work First standards for employee remuneration, welfare and safety, while no such requirement was made of foreign manufacturers. I am all in favour of fair work standards being applied.”
“Sadly, taxpayer-funded schemes have contributed, rather than aiding a solution, to the problem of diminishing market share for UK manufacturers. The initial ZEBRA—zero emission bus regional areas—scheme, touted proudly by Prime Minister Johnson’s Government, committed to 4,000 British-built buses by the end of the last Parliament. The scheme delivered just 2,270 buses, of which about 46% were built abroad. There was a material and harmful chasm between political rhetoric and delivery for UK manufacturers. Scottish manufacturing fared worse recently in phase 2 of the Scottish Government’s zero emission bus challenge fund, the outcome of which was sending two thirds of ScotZEB2 orders to Yutong in China, while less than 20% went to Scottish manufacturers.”
“If we now fail to get this right, we will not be talking about a British-led transition and we will not be talking just about a 35%, and rising, Chinese market share. We will be talking about transitioning to reliance on other places in the world to build the vehicles we need on our roads. We will be facing the reality of the long-term consequences of the price and security of supply being increasingly elsewhere and not here. We will have lost control. That is why this debate is urgent. The Government, in my view, have the political temperament to deliver a new generation of British-built buses, and they have the proven ability to be bold on industrial policy, but too many missed chances by previous Governments and increasingly imminent deadlines for our industry mean that we need to be bolder.”
“Through both the mandate and voluntary targets for new registrations, operators are moving to prepare for new additions to their fleet to be fully zero emission by 2030, at the earliest. As that date approaches and diesel buses concurrently become a diminishing part of manufacturers’ order books, we must acknowledge that there is a short window before every new bus in the UK market will be zero emission. The year 2027, proposed by some during the passage of the Bus Services Act 2025 as the date for the ZEB mandate to come into operation, would, without thought, drastically narrow that window, and I was glad to see those amendments defeated. However, the message we are hearing from our manufacturers is clear.”
“My hon. Friend goes to the heart of the issue we are debating today. This is an opportunity for our country to enable our manufacturers to compete within the market. What British industry needs is not to see its renowned prowess for making diesel buses become a sentimental memory in communities such as Falkirk, but policy certainty and support to scale up and properly compete in the zero emissions market as we move towards the implementation of the ZEB mandate. International competitors have been able to scale up to meet the global market through state subsidy and clear procurement ambition. It is up to us to gather the political will to do the same, which I am sure we will hear articulated today.”
“My constituents and I hope to see buses being built in Falkirk for a long time to come. I want the same for communities in Ballymena, Scarborough, Aldershot and beyond. I believe this Government can make that hope a concrete reality, but to do that we need to make the right choices. We need to make bolder choices, and we need to make them now.”
“If we do not adopt creative policies from elsewhere to support our British industry, we risk losing those jobs permanently to Chinese manufacturing, and if that is done, it cannot be undone. If UK bus manufacturing fails, for as long as this country is subsidising buses we will be sending taxpayers’ money abroad, so we cannot afford the cost of doing nothing. Deindustrialisation is not an inevitable process—a reaction to the UK sector losing market share. We have policy levers. We can increase social value weighting expectations nationally and locally to 30%; we can give clear guidance to contracting authorities on how the muscle in the Procurement Act can best be strategically deployed; we can clearly state the risks that kill switches could present; and we can back British buses.”
“With 400 jobs and the very existence of a century-old bus manufacturing sector put in jeopardy in my community in Falkirk last year, the state of the UK bus manufacturing sector is a real and present issue, not only for my community but for our national industrial security and how we effectively execute a just transition, as we move towards the zero emission bus mandate for 2030 at the earliest. The transition towards clean transport has been, and will be, backed by billions in additional funding from this Government, who have shown the ability to be bold on industrial policy. We have a valued, well-paid and skilled workforce. At the same time, we have an existential challenge from foreign competitors. Too much taxpayers’ money goes abroad, and too many self-imposed targets were missed by previous Governments.”
“Is that a power the Government would consider encouraging or mandating contracting authorities to use, if they are not satisfied with the security of buses coming from abroad? Although that would certainly be significant action, buses are the most used form of public transport in the country and are essential national infrastructure. We know that there are sufficiently credible risks to warrant Chinese-built buses being investigated. Without prejudicing the outcome of the investigation, which I understand is still on track, will the Minister provide us with as much of an update as possible on when we should expect the investigation to be concluded? This concern reinforces the need to move urgently to tilt the market away from increased reliance on Chinese manufacturers and towards self-sufficiency.”
“Approval certificates, however, can be sought from other countries’ approval authorities through mutual recognition arrangements for non-UK verification. I raised written questions prior to the interim reports of the investigation being reported in the media. I will repeat them here, considering the new information. Have the Government considered requiring UK VCA verification for any non-domestic manufacturers in the UK following those concerns? Following that, will the Government accept that national industrial security could and should be factored into any subsequent taxpayer-funded procurement exercises? If there is any degree of fallibility in security that cannot be adequately mitigated, the Procurement Act 2023 surely provides the powers for contracting authorities to disregard bids from non-treaty state suppliers.”
“and learned Member for North Antrim, there is currently a National Cyber Security Centre and Department for Transport investigation into the risk of remote deactivation in some Chinese-built buses. I understand, through subsequent reports in the media, that the possibility of remote deactivation exists for 700-plus buses currently active on British roads. Although the risk may appear abstract to some, this issue raises important long-term security, autonomy and dependability concerns for my constituents, operators and passengers. Our manufacturers currently comply with security regulations 155 and 156, verified by the Vehicle Certification Agency, which ensures that vehicle manufacturers implement comprehensive cyber-security measures throughout a vehicle’s life cycle and ensures that software updates happen safely and securely.”
“Will the Minister confirm in his summing-up what further action is being considered to encourage contracting authorities to maximise their portion of the 10-year bus pipeline through domestic content when it is published? In addition, what conversations has he sought with Cabinet Office colleagues on procurement reform to amplify the views of the manufacturing sector and supply chain businesses when the time comes to legislate? The necessity to retain and grow our domestic capacity is increasingly essential when serious concerns are being raised across Europe about the security of some Chinese-built buses. Following concerns raised by myself and the hon.”
“We need a stronger emphasis on social value, and I believe Ministers must now consider a 30% social value weighting and clearer local economic benefit expectations. Social value criteria should be directly linked to key performance indicators that provide evidence of growing industry; job creation and retention; skills and metrics, including economic impact; taxes paid in the UK; supply chain spend; and UK gross value added to UK plc. Simply setting social value at 10% would continue to risk it being immaterial to scheme outcomes, as we saw in Scotland, and would be an inadequate tool to deal with rapidly diminishing British market share.”
“The panel and the imminent 10-year pipeline will offer welcome certainty about the volume and source of upcoming demand, but we need alignment of policy to support our industry or we are in danger of providing just as much certainty to foreign competitors as to our own manufacturers. The Government’s recent consultation on procurement reform is very welcome. I hope it did not escape the notice of my hon. Friends on the Front Bench and in the Cabinet Office that substantial submissions were made by Alexander Dennis, Wrightbus and supply chain businesses that rely on the primary UK manufacturing sector. The UK manufacturing sector is clear on a way forward that supports it without significant structural legislative change.”
“The US’s Build America, Buy America scheme, introduced by the Biden Administration, mandates 70% local content for all rolling stock, and final assembly in the USA. Canada, while engaged in several free trade agreements, has introduced a Buy Canadian procurement policy framework that prioritises domestic industries. If other countries can do it, so can we. When I have put to the Government the case for greater policy support for UK manufacturers, the very welcome forum of the UK Bus Manufacturing Expert Panel and the 10-year bus pipeline are often cited as the answer.”
“For Members of Parliament, accessibility on our public transport network is always a key factor. At the “meet the fleet” exhibition, I was glad to see some of the new models coming out from Alexander Dennis—hopefully to be built at the Larbert and Camelon sites—which will provide greater accessibility for customers. It is important for all bus manufacturers to make that feature a key selling point when they are going out to the country. Other countries have been able to do this and follow WTO or even EU free trade obligations. The German Government have recently started enforcing a 50% rule for contract value in procurement from the EU or countries with a free trade agreement, putting a cap on market growth of foreign competitors and, in practice, protecting jobs in the German automotive industry.”