Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure adequate coverage of electric vehicle charging infrastructure in (a) rural areas and (b) the Forest of Dean.

The Government is committed to accelerating the roll-out of affordable charging infrastructure so that everyone, no matter where they live or work, can make the transition to an electric vehicle (EV). As of February 2025, the Government and industry have supported the installation of 74,334 publicly available charging devices, up 35% on this time last year. There was particularly strong growth in rural areas in 2024, with chargepoint numbers increasing by 45%.

Going forward, Gloucestershire County Council has been allocated almost £3.7m capital and resource funding through the Local EV Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund to increase the number of local public chargepoints. LEVI funding allocations factored in the proportion of residents in rural areas, meaning local authorities in rural areas were allocated additional funding compared to urban ones.