Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress her Department has made on increasing EV charging infrastructure initiatives in under-served (a) urban and (b) rural areas.

Government’s £381 million Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Fund allocated capital and resource funding across all higher tier local authorities (LAs) in England, to ensure chargepoint rollout across the country including in under-served urban and rural areas. LAs with a higher proportion of residents in rural areas received a higher proportional allocation. This builds on rollout to date, with the number of publicly available charging devices in rural areas of England increasing by 45% in 2024.

To further address gaps in infrastructure and make it easier for those without a driveway to charge at home, Government also announced a new £25 million grant for local authorities in England to install electric vehicle pavement channels in July. Funding can be used in both urban and rural areas.