Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans his Department has to support (a) the adoption of electric vans by small and mid-size enterprises and (b) van fleets facing additional costs to install charging infrastructure.

Government grants for plug in vehicles continue to be available to help reduce the up-front purchase price of electric vans. Demand for zero emission vans increased substantially in 2020, with increased interest from commercial fleets. Since the plug in grant scheme was introduced in 2012, it has supported over 15,000 electric vans and HGVs across the UK. There are more than 20 models eligible for the grant. Policies and grant rates are kept under review and we will monitor the market closely, to ensure the grant remains an effective incentive and good value for money for the taxpayer. Zero emission vans are exempt from vehicle excise duty, and from 6 April 2021 zero emission company vans were exempt from the van benefit charge.

There are also grants available to support the installation of chargepoints at homes, workplaces and on residential streets. The £950m Rapid Charging Fund will deliver substantial, future-proofed connections to the electricity grid at motorway and major A road services, to enable the delivery of ultra rapid chargepoints up and down the country. Building on the £1.9 billion from Spending Review 2020, the Government has recently committed an additional £620 million to support the transition to electric vehicles. The additional funding will support the rollout of charging infrastructure, with a particular focus on local on street residential charging, and targeted plug-in vehicle grants. Ofgem has also consulted on proposals that would reduce costs for installing new EV chargepoints where reinforcement of the existing network is required.