Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to increase the number of electric car charging points (a) throughout the UK and (b) in Gloucestershire; and if he will make a statement.

The Government has a number of schemes which can be accessed by EV drivers across the country, including in Gloucestershire. The Government is providing funding for schemes to support chargepoint infrastructure at homes and workplaces and on residential streets. The Government’s on street residential charging scheme offers grants to local authorities to help support this investment at local level. We want to encourage private sector investment to build and operate a self-sustaining public network that is affordable, reliable and accessible. In many cases, the market is best placed to identify the right locations for chargepoints and make improvements to the network and it is essential that viable commercial models are in place.

We will continue to monitor whether any significant gaps in uptake or infrastructure provision emerge in the medium term. In the future we will consider whether there is a case for direct central government support in areas where there is a market failure, which may include areas outside the major conurbations.

In August 2017, South Gloucestershire Council were awarded £4,790,910 under Government’s [£42m] Low Emission Bus Scheme, for the provision of 110 Biomethane low emissions buses and accompanying infrastructure. The purpose of the scheme is to help improve regional air quality in UK towns and cities.