Asked by: Clive Jones (Liberal Democrat - Wokingham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department plans to take to help tackle potential barriers to the (a) deployment and (b) commercial viability of electric vehicle charging stations.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The £381m Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Fund supports local authorities in England to work with industry and transform the availability of EV charging for drivers without off-street parking. The fund will support the commercialisation of, and investment in, the local charging infrastructure sector and is expected to leverage significant private investment to deliver over 100,000 chargepoints.
Furthermore, the Government has announced changes to street works and planning permissions, making it easier, quicker and cheaper to install infrastructure.
Asked by: Clive Jones (Liberal Democrat - Wokingham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero on steps to help increase levels of ownership of electric vehicles.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Ministers from across Government regularly meet to discuss the transition to zero emission vehicles (ZEVs), including policies to increase levels of ZEV ownership and the ZEV Mandate. The Office for Zero Emission Vehicles is a joint office between the Department for Transport and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and reports to Ministers in both departments in relation to the transition to zero emission vehicles.
Asked by: Clive Jones (Liberal Democrat - Wokingham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how she plans to use the £200 million allocated for charging infrastructure in the Autumn Budget 2004.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
We will be investing £200m to accelerate EV chargepoint roll out. This funding will include helping local authorities install charging infrastructure across England; supporting en-route charging infrastructure deployment; and providing targeted support for chargepoints for homes and workplaces.
Asked by: Clive Jones (Liberal Democrat - Wokingham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress her Department has made on the implementation of the rapid charging fund.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
There has been strong progress with installation of chargepoints on the Strategic Road Network. There are now over 5,250 open-access rapid and ultra-rapid chargers within one mile of the Strategic Road Network (Zapmap, January 2025), of which 1,180 are at motorway service areas (based on industry data). The latter is up around 165% over the last two years.
The market had changed significantly since the Rapid Charging Fund was announced, including increased private sector investment in infrastructure, a changed regulatory environment, and improvements in battery technology.
The Government will ensure taxpayers' money is used as efficiently as possible to make the transition to electric vehicles a success. The Rapid Charging Fund pilot was launched to better understand where best to target government support. We will apply learning from the pilot to continue working with industry to boost charging infrastructure on the Strategic Road Network.
Asked by: Clive Jones (Liberal Democrat - Wokingham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department plans to take to help increase the impact of (a) private sector investment and (b) public sector funding on levels of access to of (i) affordable and (ii) convenient electric vehicle charging points.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Government is committed to making EV charging infrastructure more affordable and accessible.
The £381m Local EV Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund supports local authorities in England to work with industry and transform the availability of EV charging for drivers without off-street parking. The funding, backed by substantial private investment, will support the installation of at least 100,000 local chargepoints.
Asked by: Clive Jones (Liberal Democrat - Wokingham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of recent trends in the residual value of second-hand electric vehicles.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Government works closely with the automotive industry to monitor the health of the used electric vehicle (EV) market. The Office for Zero Emission Vehicles attends a used EV industry steering group. This includes stakeholders representing independent and franchised dealerships, vehicle auctioneers, rental and leasing companies, and the repair sector. This group actively follows the development of prices and residual values in the used EV market.
Industry intelligence suggests the recent volatility in EV prices was caused by shifts in the supply and demand of used EVs. Such shifts are likely to be felt more strongly in the used EV market, as it is still at an early stage. The Government expects prices and residual values to stabilise as the market matures.
Asked by: Clive Jones (Liberal Democrat - Wokingham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to improve the reliability of signalling on the Great Western Main Line out of Twyford.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Ministers have met with both Great Western Railway and Network Rail on operational performance which is the Secretary of State’s key focus for improvement. Recent performance for Network Rail has improved including the infrastructure on the mainline around Twyford. Improving signalling is part of an ongoing project between Network Rail western region and Great Western Railway.
Asked by: Clive Jones (Liberal Democrat - Wokingham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the oral contribution by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport in response to the question from the hon. Member for Wokingham of 17 December 2024, Official Report, column 87WH, when she intends to write regarding Twyford car park.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Network Rail is intending to resurface the station car park at Twyford as part of its renewals programme. This will be done in accordance with current standards, which will likely result in fewer parking spaces in the car park. Great Western Railway is working with Network Rail and local stakeholders on options to provide additional car parking spaces at Twyford.
Asked by: Clive Jones (Liberal Democrat - Wokingham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the frequency of rail services for commuters between Wokingham and London.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Department officials are in regular conversation with South-Western Railway regarding its service provision in response to demand. When reviewing train services, the Department needs to assess business cases and balance demand with value for the taxpayer in its considerations. The Department believe this balance to be appropriate.
Asked by: Clive Jones (Liberal Democrat - Wokingham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what her planned timetable is for publishing the Government's consultation on the zero emission vehicle mandate.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The consultation on Phasing out sales of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030 and supporting the ZEV transition launched on 24 December 2024 and is due to close on 18 February 2025. The Government is engaging intensively with interested stakeholders and a response will be published in due course.