Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what targets they have set, if any, to increase the number of electric car charge points on roads and motorways; and what steps they are taking to meet such targets.

The Government’s ambition is to have one of the best infrastructure networks in the world for electric vehicles, and we want chargepoints to be accessible, reliable, affordable and secure. We want the transition to 2040 to be consumer and market-led, supported by the measures set out in the Road to Zero strategy. We also want to encourage and leverage private sector investment to build and operate a self-sustaining public network supported by the right policy framework.

Government funding and leadership, alongside private sector investment, has supported the installation of more than 20,000 public chargepoints. This includes 2,000 rapid chargepoints; one of the largest rapid networks in Europe.

The Prime Minister has asked the Office for Low Emission Vehicles to go further and work with industry to set out a vision, by Autumn 2019, for a core infrastructure network of rapid and high powered chargepoints across England’s key road network. The Government’s grant schemes and the £400m public-private Charging Infrastructure Investment Fund will also see thousands more chargepoints installed across the UK.

Highways England has committed £15m to ensure there is a chargepoint which is rapid where possible, every 20 miles on 95% of the Strategic Road Network by 2020. The Automated and Electric Vehicles Act gives Government powers to ensure appropriate provision of chargepoints at motorway service areas and large fuel retailers if needed.