Asked by: Lord Rooker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the risk of protective earthed neutral faults in public and street chargers for electric vehicles.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Safety requirements relating to protective earthed neutral faults, including those for electric vehicle (EV) chargepoints, are covered by The Electricity Safety, Quality and Continuity Regulations 2002, BS 7671 Requirements for Electrical Installations, the Institution of Engineering and Technology's code of practice for EV Charging Equipment, and the Energy Networks Association’s Engineering Recommendation G12. The Government has not undertaken any separate risk assessment of protective earthed neutral faults in EV chargepoints.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress his Department has made on installing six high powered, open access charge-points at each motorway service station by the end of 2023.
Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Around 96 per cent of motorway service areas (MSAs) now have charging available. When the aim was announced, there were only 4 ultra-rapid (150kw+) chargepoints across MSAs in England. There are now more than 260 ultra-rapid chargepoints, and more than 480 open-access (can be used with any electric vehicle) rapid (50kW) and ultra-rapid chargepoints at MSAs in total.
The Department will collect data from motorway service operators early in the New Year on how many chargepoints had been installed by MSAs by the end of 2023.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the burdens funding announced in his Department's consultation outcome on consistency in household and business recycling in England, last updated on 21 November 2023, what assessment he has made of whether the level of funding proposed will be adequate to meet the cost of (a) electric vehicles and (b) related charging infrastructure.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Any new financial burdens introduced through new statutory duties on local authorities will be assessed in accordance with the New Burdens Doctrine and the net reasonable cost covered by the government.
We are working to assess net additional costs to local authorities and will be engaging with local authorities on funding to be provided in due course.
Asked by: Alistair Strathern (Labour - Mid Bedfordshire)
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 vehicle charging points in (a) Mid Bedfordshire constituency and (b) the UK.
Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department is supporting local authorities in England through its £381 million Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund. Central Bedfordshire Council has been allocated over £1.4 million in capital funding to support the installation of EV chargepoints. Central Bedfordshire will also benefit from almost £350,00 of capability (resource) funding, which will secure dedicated in-house expertise to support authorities to plan, procure and tender the delivery of local chargepoints.
In addition, the council has been awarded £456,883 for 63 chargepoints through the On-Street Residential Chargepoint Scheme, which is available to all local authorities in the UK.
Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made a comparative assessment of the charging infrastructure that will be required to support the electrification of (a) HGV's and (b) cars.
Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department is working with industry stakeholders to develop a zero emission HGV and coach infrastructure strategy for publication in 2024.
The strategy will set strategic direction and outline the respective roles and responsibilities of both government and industry to ensure the delivery of the refuelling and recharging infrastructure required to meet the 2035 and 2040 end of sale dates for new non-zero emission HGVs. This follows on from the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Strategy, which focused on cars and vans.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the distribution of electric vehicle charging points in rural areas, by (1) number per (a) area, or (b) village, (2) the number of villages that still lack any such facility, or (3) any other relevant metric.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Data on public electric vehicle charging devices in the UK, held by the Department for Transport, is sourced from the electric vehicle charging platform Zapmap. Charging devices not recorded on Zapmap are not included and the correct number of charging devices may be higher than recorded in these figures.
As of 1 October 2023, there were 3,316 public charging devices in a rural village and dispersed setting in England.
There were a further 2,676 charging devices in rural towns, with a total number of 5,992 charging devices in rural areas in England as of 1st October 2023.
No further assessment has been made.
Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the delay in implementing the Rapid Charging Fund on (a) demand for electric vehicles and (b) inward investment into the electric vehicle industry.
Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Rapid Charging Fund (RCF) is a complex long-term project, requiring new approaches to enable substantial investments from government and industry to future-proof key locations. Testing with stakeholders, prior to opening the fund, has benefitted the design and delivery arrangements.
The RCF will help ensure that the private sector can continue to expand the charging network and future-proof electricity network capacity 10 years ahead to a minimum of 2035, with a stretch target of 2050.
Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to encourage District Network Operators to make the process of grid connection and upgrade easier for fleets installing EV charging infrastructure; and whether they have any plans to expand Project Rapid to focus on additional transport hubs such as airports, shared depots and truck rest areas.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
As set out in the Powering Up Britain Energy Security Plan, and subsequent Prime Minister’s speech on net zero on 20 September, Government is committed to reducing grid connection timescales for EV charging and other projects. The forthcoming Government and Ofgem Connections Action Plan will set out action to accelerate grid connection timescales for all customers including demand projects, such as EV chargepoint infrastructure. In addition, the Plan for Drivers published in October 2023, committed to a review of grid connections, specifically focused on EV infrastructure.
The Government has no plans to extend the scope of the Rapid Charging Fund beyond the strategic road network. The Government is planning to publish a consultation on the Rapid Charging Fund shortly.
Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to address regional disparities in chargepoint provision per capita in each locality.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Government and industry have supported the installation of 49,220 publicly available charging devices as of 1 October 2023. This includes more than 8,900 50kW or above charging devices.
The £381 million Local EV Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund supports local authorities in England to work with industry and transform the availability of charging for drivers without off-street parking. This will deliver tens of thousands of local chargepoints, ensuring the transition to electric vehicles takes place in every part of the country. Local authority funding was allocated by evaluating need and progress in relation to chargepoint rollout, helping to address existing disparities with infrastructure provision.
Asked by: Justin Tomlinson (Conservative - North Swindon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department is taking steps to help prevent the placement of electric car charging cables across public footpaths.
Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government recognises that some households without off-street parking could access charging by running cables from their property to a vehicle. However, this can negatively impact other pavement users if done inappropriately and in some cases, breach the Highways Act 1980.
As part of the Plan for Drivers, the Government committed to provide guidance on the use of cross pavement solutions, which safely guide charging cables between a property and on-street vehicle. This will include best practice to local authorities on relevant legislation, permissions and how to consider applications. In addition, the plan committed to expand the Electric Vehicle Chargepoint Grant to trial support for safe cross pavement solutions.