Asked by: Perran Moon (Labour - Camborne and Redruth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent steps her Department has taken to improve signage for electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
A reliable, accessible public charging network to support electric vehicle (EV) drivers on long journeys is essential. Ensuring this is visible and functional will build consumer confidence, which is vital for mass EV adoption. An EV charging symbol is in use on traffic signs to direct drivers to the growing number of chargepoints. There are now over 5,250 open-access rapid and ultra rapid chargers within one mile of the Strategic Road Network (SRN), having doubled over 18 months.
Government is working with industry, including chargepoint operators, and with National Highways, which manages the SRN in England, to improve signage deployment. This includes looking for opportunities to make it easier to provide signage for EV-only charging hubs.
Asked by: Perran Moon (Labour - Camborne and Redruth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure local authorities are adequately staffed to (a) build and (b) organise electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Government’s £381m Local EV Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund includes £37.8m capability funding to ensure local authorities can hire staff to plan, procure and tender the delivery of local chargepoints.
The LEVI Fund also supports local authorities through one-to-one guidance, workshops and an online knowledge repository with expert advice on chargepoint planning, procurement and delivery. This is in addition to a dedicated electric vehicle training course, completed by over 150 local authority officers to date. In December 2024 the Department announced a £22m extension to the LEVI Capability Fund in financial year 2025/26, building on the successful work to date.
Asked by: Perran Moon (Labour - Camborne and Redruth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of removing 90 day termination convenience clauses from charge point operator contracts.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Department has worked extensively with stakeholders including industry to develop procurement guidance for local authorities which encourages private investment in electric vehicle charging infrastructure. This includes recommendations around the appropriate termination clauses, where termination at convenience is explicitly excluded.
Local authorities are the contracting authorities responsible for their procurements, who need to make the assessment and determination on termination clauses in their contracts.
Asked by: Perran Moon (Labour - Camborne and Redruth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of mandating parking bays for electric vehicles through traffic regulation orders.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Traffic regulation orders (TRO) can already be used to designate and enforce electric vehicle only, on-street parking bays. Their use is at the discretion of the local traffic authority.
Asked by: Perran Moon (Labour - Camborne and Redruth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle theft of electric vehicle infrastructure.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
I have raised this issue with the Home Office and my Department will continue to work with them on this.
Asked by: Perran Moon (Labour - Camborne and Redruth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment her Department has made of potential merits of introducing a new public media campaign to promote the (a) financial and (b) environmental benefits of electric vehicles.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Government is committed to accelerating the transition to zero emission vehicles and increasing awareness of the benefits of electric vehicle ownership. We are working closely with the electric vehicle sector and key partners to ensure that we are delivering consistent and clear information to drivers about making the switch to electric vehicles and charging infrastructure. Combating misinformation is a key part of this, and we continue to assess how we can do this most effectively.
Asked by: Perran Moon (Labour - Camborne and Redruth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of granting electric vehicle charging infrastructure statutory rights.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
In December 2024, the Government published the outcome of a consultation on a proposal to include chargepoint operators into the street works permitting regime, removing the requirement for a Section 50 licence. A clause to make this change has been included in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill.
Asked by: Perran Moon (Labour - Camborne and Redruth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of implementing the UN Global Technical Regulation No. 22 battery regulations in the second hand electric vehicle market.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Government is currently analysing options for the implementation of GTR No.22 regulations in the UK.
Asked by: Perran Moon (Labour - Camborne and Redruth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if her Department will make an assessment of the adequacy of PAS1899 guidance for electric vehicle charge points.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
PAS 1899 was developed jointly by OZEV and Motability Foundation and launched in October 2022. My Department has recently undertaken a review of this standard alongside the British Standards Institution, charging industry, disabled users, accessibility experts, consumer groups and the devolved administrations. The Department will consider the outcome of this review and potential next steps.
Asked by: Perran Moon (Labour - Camborne and Redruth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to improve the grid connection process for electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
We are radically reforming the grid connections process to remove speculative projects and accelerate connections for investments that will support our clean power and growth missions, including electric vehicle charging infrastructure. Ofgem has committed £22.2 billion over five years to upgrade local grids vital to this transition.
In December 2024, the Government published the outcome of a review on improving the grid connection process for electric vehicle charging infrastructure. The review addresses common issues surrounding the rollout of EV infrastructure and grid connections, outlines best practice, and clarifies roles and responsibilities. Addressing these issues will ensure the transport and energy sectors can deliver charging infrastructure at the pace needed to support the transition.