Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the number of charging points for electric vehicles there will be in the UK on (a) 1 January 2019, (b) 1 January 2020 and (c) 1 January 2021.

The Government provides funding for the installation of both on-street and off-street charging infrastructure, plus support to enable workplaces to install infrastructure for use by employees and fleets. As a result, thanks to Government leadership, local authority engagement and a growing private sector, the UK now has over 11,500 publically accessible chargepoints, including over 900 rapid chargepoints. This is one of the largest rapid networks in Europe. Almost every motorway service area also has at least one rapid chargepoint, and some have several. Highways England has committed to ensure there are chargepoints every 20 miles on 95% of the strategic road network.

To build on this, we are taking powers through the Automated and Electric Vehicle Bill to ensure the further roll-out of electric vehicle infrastructure at key locations such as motorway service areas. As announced at Autumn Budget 2017, a new £400m electric car Charging Infrastructure Investment Fund (£200m new Government investment to be matched by private investors) will accelerate the roll-out of charging infrastructure in response to market demand by providing access to finance to companies that deliver chargepoints.

We will also publish a strategy in the coming months on the Government’s role in the de-carbonisation of road transport, which will comprehensively address the issues relating to chargepoints for all electric vehicles, not simply cars.