Asked by: Felicity Buchan (Conservative - Kensington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure that the electric vehicle charging network is (a) comprehensive and (b) user friendly.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Our infrastructure strategy will ensure public chargepoints are in place to support those without off-street parking and to enable long distance journeys.
Of the £2.5 billion of Government funding committed to the EV transition since 2020, over £1.6 billion will be used to support charging infrastructure.
Our infrastructure strategy will ensure public chargepoints are in place to support those without off-street parking and to enable long distance journeys. We expect at least ten times more public chargepoints to be installed across the UK by the end of the decade, bringing the number to around 300,000 by 2030.
Drivers will benefit from easier payment methods as well as the ability to compare prices and access real-time information about chargepoints. We will ensure there is a 99% reliability rate at rapid chargepoints. Chargepoints will need to have open data so that they are easy to find using maps and apps.
To ensure that the transition to electric vehicles takes place in every part of the country, we are pledging at least £500m to support local chargepoint provision. As part of this, the £450m Local EV Infrastructure (LEVI) fund will support local authorities to work with industry and transform the availability of charging for drivers without off-street parking. We have launched a £10m pilot as a springboard for the development of the full fund.
Asked by: Felicity Buchan (Conservative - Kensington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has held discussions with Transport for London on the Mayor of London's commitment to roll out a fully electric bus fleet by 2034.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Government has discussions with Transport for London on a wide range of topics, including decarbonising transport. However, transport in London is ultimately devolved to the Mayor of London and TfL.
Rolling out zero-emissions buses across the UK forms part of our Transport Decarbonisation Plan, and London already has the largest electric bus fleet in the UK and one of the largest in Europe. If the Mayor wants to implement a fully electric bus fleet by the 2030s, it is up to the Mayor to find the necessary funding to implement this.
Asked by: Felicity Buchan (Conservative - Kensington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to (a) increase the availability of on-street electric vehicle charging points in line with projected demand and (b) ensure electric vehicle charging points can be used with all electric vehicle models and are in good working condition.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
We will invest over £1.3 billion in accelerating the roll out of charging infrastructure over the next four years, targeting support on rapid chargepoints on motorways and major roads, and installing more on-street chargepoints near homes and workplaces to make charging as easy as refuelling a petrol or diesel car.
So far, the £400 million public-private Charging Infrastructure Investment Fund has made three investments which will create 5,000 more rapid chargepoints across the UK and increase provision of on-street residential chargepoints for those without access to private driveways. The On-Street Residential Charging Scheme supports the rollout of local charging and is available to all UK local authorities to provide public chargepoints for their residents without access to private parking. This year there is £20 million available under the scheme and we have committed substantial funding to address this issue throughout this spending review period.
Our forthcoming Electric Vehicle (EV) Infrastructure Strategy will define our vision for the continued roll-out of a world-leading charging infrastructure network across the UK and will establish the Government’s expectations for the roles and responsibilities of key stakeholders in the planning and deployment of charging infrastructure.
To increase confidence in the charging network and reduce range anxiety the Government consulted on measures to improve the consumer experience of public charging focusing on four key areas including ensuring the network is reliable and opening public EV chargepoint data to enable consumers to locate the right chargepoint for their needs. Our proposals will mean that consumers can easily understand where chargepoints are situated, whether they are working and available, and if they have the payment methods available that they prefer to use. We will publish our government response shortly and we will lay legislation in 2022.
All new EVs can charge on a ‘Type 2 plug’ for slow and fast charging. For rapid charging the choice is between Combine Charging System (CCS) or CHAdeMO. In 2017 we regulated through the Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Regulations for all charge points to have at least a Type 2 plug for AC charging or CCS plug for DC charging. Due to our 2017 regulations, and equivalent regulations in other areas of the world, requiring rapid charge points to have CCS, there are now only two EV models are available to buy in the UK with CHAdeMO sockets.
From the driver’s perspective, if they drive a car which has a CCS then they should be able to use any rapid charge point. If they are driving a vehicle that uses a CHAdeMO connector they will be able to use almost all current rapid public chargers, as over 96% rapid charge points come with both CCS and CHAdeMO cables.
Asked by: Felicity Buchan (Conservative - Kensington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has made an assessment of the number of jobs that will be created from the nationwide rollout of electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
No such specific assessment has been made. Our Automotive Transformation Fund will accelerate the shift to zero emission vehicles and deliver support for 40,000 jobs in the automotive sector across the UK by 2030. More widely, decarbonising transport will lead to thousands of jobs being created in transport related green industries. The UK infrastructure sector is growing rapidly and our phase out dates for new petrol and diesel cars and vans have sent a clear signal of the UK’s direction of travel unlocking private sector funding which is expanding chargepoint provision and creating jobs and investment across the country.
Our forthcoming Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Strategy will define our vision for the continued roll-out of a world-leading charging infrastructure network across the UK and will establish the Government’s expectations for the roles and responsibilities of key stakeholders in the planning and deployment of charging infrastructure.
Asked by: Felicity Buchan (Conservative - Kensington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of mandating interoperability between electric vehicle charge point networks as part of the allocation of Government funding for that infrastructure.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
For public chargepoints funded with public money, the Government already requires that they meet a strict eligibility criteria. This includes that chargepoints be capable of at least charging those vehicles with a Type 2 connection and that they meet at least the minimum technical specifications required by the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles including ensuring chargepoints provide ad-hoc access in line with the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulations 2017.
We want to ensure that all public chargepoints are easy to use and accessible for all motorists who need to use them. The Government has powers under the Automated and Electric Vehicles Act 2018 to improve the customer charging experience and increase provision of electric vehicle infrastructure, and stands ready to introduce regulations if they are needed. We recently consulted on improving the consumer experience at public chargepoints. This covered four key areas: making it easier to pay, opening up chargepoint data, using a single payment metric and ensuring a reliable network. The consultation closed on 10 April and we are analysing responses with a view to legislating later in the year.