Funding will be awarded to 20 local authorities as part of the Clean Bus Technology Fund, which was launched in 2017 and is run by the Joint Air Quality Unit.

Speaking at the UK Bus Summit at London’s QEII Centre on 8 February 2018, Transport Minister Nusrat Ghani set out how the money will enable older vehicles to meet minimum emissions standards, and contribute to better air quality.

Speaking at the Bus Summit, Transport Minister Nusrat Ghani said:

Buses and coaches are hugely important to those who rely on them and to the communities in which these people live and work.

Road transport is going to change dramatically over the next couple of decades – and we have to make sure that the bus industry is ready to benefit from those changes.

We have to move away from nose-to-tail car traffic at peak times, endless engine idling, stop-start travel and rising pollution and carbon emissions. Rather than contributing to the problem – buses and coaches very much form part of the solution.

The money will allow councils to retrofit vehicles with technology to reduce tailpipe emissions of nitrogen dioxide, as part of a drive to help ensure that more buses and coaches can contribute to improving air quality in UK cities.

Environment Minister Therese Coffey said:

Poor air quality affects public health, the economy and the environment, which is why we are determined to do more.

I am delighted to see so many high quality applications to the Clean Bus Technology Fund and, as a result, the government has decided to bring forward funding meaning that we will award nearly £40 million to retrofit more than 2,700 buses.

This is another way which the government is delivering on its commitment to improving the environment within a generation and leave it in a better state than we found it.

Alongside this, the Department for Transport will use the Bus Services Act as a way of encouraging councils and bus companies to look at measures to encourage the public to use buses.

In 2016, government invested £30 million through the Low Emission Bus Scheme, which helped put over 300 new low emission buses on the roads, with a further £11 million and 150 buses being announced in 2017.

Winners

Further information

In November 2016 the Department for Transport announced a further £100 million to support low emission buses. Of this, £40 million was put towards the Clean Bus Technology Fund, and £60 million was dedicated to new low emission buses. From the £60 million, £11 million was used to fund the best of the bids which had initially narrowly missed out on funding from LEBS, supporting the purchase of a further 150 low emission buses. The remaining £49 million will be used to fund the next round of the Low Emission Bus Scheme.

By 15 September this year (2018), 5 local authorities are required to set out their final plans for bringing nitrogen dioxide concentrations within legal limits in the shortest possible time. A further 23 local authorities are required to set out their initial plans by the end of March, with final plans by the end of the year.

In August 2017, the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership launched the Clean Vehicle Retrofit Accreditation Scheme, with government funding support.

The Environment Agency consult the public on certain applications for the abstraction and impoundment of water.

These notices explain:

• what the application is about
• which Environment Agency offices you can visit to see the application documents on the public register
• when you need to comment by

The Environment Agency consult the public on certain applications for the abstraction and impoundment of water.

These notices explain:

• what the application is about
• which Environment Agency offices you can visit to see the application documents on the public register
• when you need to comment by

This release gives the results of further analysis of data previously released in Forestry Statistics 2017, combining data on softwood removals by country with data on UK softwood deliveries.

Thank you Mr President

And thank you Special Representative Tanin for your briefing and the Secretary-General’s report.

Mr President, as Ambassador Çitaku reminded us, this month marks ten years since Kosovo became a sovereign state. Let us reflect on the progress that has been achieved in this time. The people of Kosovo have participated in three Parliamentary elections since declaring independence in 2008, as well as two country-wide mayoral and municipal elections. Kosovo has also shown solid economic growth, and is now among the top ten countries for starting a business according to the World Bank’s Doing Business 2018 report, jumping from 60th to 40th place in that same report’s ranking for ease of doing business. And recent action towards full integration of Kosovo’s judiciary within the EU-facilitated dialogue underscores a real commitment to progress and stability. This is not the same country it was 10 years ago when UNMIK was first established.

This is not to say Kosovo is without its challenges: building a democracy takes time. The genuinely competitive local elections in the majority of municipalities in Kosovo were a welcome sign of healthy democratic competition, but we continue to be concerned by allegations of intimidation in Kosovan-Serb municipalities.

Additionally, we welcome the public statement by President Hashim Thaçi on February 1st that the Kosovo Specialist Chambers “cannot and will not be abrogated”, and we hope to see the initiative in the Kosovo Assembly formally removed in the coming days, ensuring that the Chambers’ important work to maintain justice and the rule of law will continue.

We continue to urge Kosovo authorities to take all possible steps to swiftly resolve the murder of Oliver Ivanović, which has increased the local tensions in North Mitrovica.

However, these concerns should not diminish the progress that has been made by Kosovo. Kosovo can continue to build on its progress by transitioning UNMIK institutions to Kosovan institutions or other international organizations. While we appreciate UNMIK’s years of work in Kosovo, it is time for a leaner, more efficient Mission to focus on more tightly defined priorities that take into account all of the progress Kosovo has made in the last ten years.

Kosovo’s challenges are far less severe than those of the fledgling nation that UNMIK first arrived to. And thus, it does not require a UN Mission of this size. Moreover, yesterday in the open debate in this Council which you chaired, the UK called for a Security Council that focuses on present and future challenges; with all of the world’s pressing challenges, checking in on Kosovo’s good progress every three months with these meetings is simply not a good use of this Council’s time. In closing, let me reiterate the longstanding UK position that it is past time for this Council to meet less frequently on this issue.

Thank you.