Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps are being taken to ensure that fast chargers for electric cars are available in towns with populations under 100,000.

The UK already has more than 900 rapid chargepoints, one of the largest networks in Europe. The Government has put in place a range of grant schemes to support the installation of charging infrastructure - on-street, off-street and at workplaces. At Autumn Budget 2017, the Chancellor announced a new £400m electric vehicle Charging Infrastructure Investment Fund (£200m new Government investment to be matched by private investors). This funding could include supporting rapid chargers, and more detail on how the Fund will be administered will be published in due course.

Increasingly the private sector is seeing the opportunity of this new market, with chargers going in at destinations including hotels and supermarkets. We are also taking powers through the Automated and Electric Vehicle Bill to ensure the roll-out of electric vehicle infrastructure at key locations like motorway service areas and large fuel stations.