Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to increase the availability of rapid and ultra-rapid charging infrastructure in rural areas.

As of January 2026, 20.3% of rapid and ultra-rapid EV chargers were in rural areas, higher than the proportion of the population of England and Wales that live in rural areas (17.5%).

There are currently over 26,378 open-access 50kW+ chargers in the UK. This includes over 6,400 charge points within one mile of the Strategic Road Network (SRN, motorways and major A-roads in England), which have more than quadrupled in the last three years (July 2022 – October 2025, Zapmap).

The Government will continue to work closely with industry to target support where it is needed, including gaps in charging provision on the SRN. This includes support through a £10 million innovation fund, which is open to applications until later this month.