Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to increase the funding of the On-Street Residential Grant Scheme, and how many grant applications for that scheme (a) have been approved since that scheme began and (b) were successfully made in Bedfordshire in each of the last two financial years.

We have already doubled the funding available for the On-Street Residential Grant Scheme (ORCS) over the last two years (to £5m in August 19, up from £2.5m, and to £10m for 2020/21, up from £5m) to ensure that more local authorities and residents can benefit from the scheme.

We have approved 73 grant applications since the scheme began, including one successful application from Luton Borough Council in 2018/19. We have not received any other applications from local authorities within Bedfordshire.

The scheme has supported over 60 local authorities to deliver over 2,000 chargepoints for residents who do not have off-street parking. Uptake of the scheme increased rapidly in 2019/20. In October, the Secretary of State wrote to all local authorities encouraging them to send their strategies for infrastructure deployment and to take advantage of ORCS funding.

We are currently consulting on bringing forward an end to the sale of new petrol, diesel and hybrid cars and vans from 2040 to 2035, or earlier if a faster transition appears feasible. This includes looking at the package of measures that are required to support an earlier date, such as support required for those who do not have off-street parking. Budgets for ORCS beyond 2020/21 have not yet been set, but responses to the consultation, especially from local authorities, will help to inform our understanding of what might be required.