Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to improve the charging infrastructure for electric vehicles.

The Government’s vision remains to have one of the best electric vehicle chargepoint networks in the world. Current grant funding schemes support chargepoint infrastructure at homes, workplaces and on residential streets. Alongside this, the £400m public-private Charging Infrastructure Investment Fund will see thousands more chargepoints installed across the UK.

Overall, the Government’s Road to Zero strategy, published in July 2018, included a number of new commitments to expand electric and low emission vehicle infrastructure across the country. The Department will be launching a consultation shortly on the proposal for chargepoints to be installed in all new-build homes in England, where appropriate, and it is also looking at how all new lampposts can include charging infrastructure.

The Automated and Electric Vehicles Act gives the Government powers to require the installation of chargepoints at motorway service areas, and to set reliability and maintenance standards for public chargepoints. We will monitor market developments and consider using these powers if the market does not deliver.