Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has had discussions with (a) local authorities and (b) private companies that own electrical infrastructure that delivers public services on using existing (i) electric infrastructure and (ii) lamp posts to create additional EV charging points.

The Government is committed to expanding the electricity network to enable decarbonisation and is working closely with Ofgem and industry to mobilise the required investment. In the current distribution price control, Ofgem has allowed £22.2bn for upfront investment in low voltage networks, including £3.1bn for network upgrades to support low-carbon technologies, including infrastructure to support EV charging.

The Government regularly engages with the electricity network companies, which are responsible for maintaining and upgrading electrical infrastructure.

The Government also meets regularly with chargepoint operators and local authorities that plan and deliver on-street chargepoints. The £381m LEVI Fund supports local authorities in England to work with industry and transform the availability of EV charging for drivers without off-street parking. This includes lamp post chargepoints.