Asked by: Peter Gibson (Conservative - Darlington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with Darlington Borough Council on the adequacy of the provision of on-street charging for electric vehicles in Darlington.
Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
In March 2023, the Department wrote to all tier one local authorities in England to announce the launch of the £381m Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund. This Fund will enable them to transform the availability of charging infrastructure for drivers without off-street parking in their area.
Tees Valley Combined Authority – which includes Darlington Borough Council – has been allocated £6.6 million in capital funding, and £570,000 in capability funding to recruit dedicated in-house expertise, through the LEVI Fund.
Last year, the LEVI Support Body led communication with local authority applicants, hosted LEVI roadshows across England and developed an EV officer training course to engage, educate and equip those involved in the planning and deployment of EV infrastructure.
The Department and the LEVI Support Body will continue to offer expert advice and support to local authorities, including Tees Valley Combined Authority, throughout the Fund’s timeline.
Asked by: John Redwood (Conservative - Wokingham)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 9 January 2024 to Question 7768 on Oil: Refineries, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the closure of the Grangemouth oil refinery on imports.
Answered by Andrew Bowie - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The owners of Grangemouth refinery, Petroineos, recently announced that they were putting in place the enabling works for a future transition to an import terminal. Petroineos have not taken a decision on when refining operations will cease but they anticipate they will continue until at least May 2025.
The impact of a cessation of refining operations on UK imports will depend on the supply and demand for fuels at the time. The Government’s Net Zero policies to increase use of electric vehicles and renewable transport fuels, will progressively reduce demand for conventional fuels.
The UK already both imports and exports fuels to balance demand and supply. The Petroineos plans should continue to ensure that customer needs are met.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has had discussions with (a) London Electric Vehicle Company (LEVC) Ltd and (b) the wider industry on the repair capacity for (i) LEVC black cabs and (ii) other electric taxis.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department has regular engagement with LEVC and the wider industry on a range of topics, most recently including manufacturing trends and the extension to the Plug In Taxi Grant. However, matters relating to electric taxi repairs have not been raised.
The Government recognises there will be a transitional period for the repair sector as the UK moves to zero emission road transport. Although not specifically on electric taxis, the Government funded research by Thatcham to understand the impact of the electric vehicle transition on the repair sector, which was published in 2023. The number of EV qualified technicians has risen rapidly. Data from the Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI) suggests there are 52,000 qualified electric vehicle technicians in the UK, which is 22% of all UK technicians. This is relative to 3.8% of all vehicles in the UK being a plug-in electric vehicle.
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to page 73 of the Autumn Budget and Spending Review, which policies were identified for receipt of core net zero spend funding from the £1 billion allocated to fund decarbonisation of cars and vans in the financial year 2024-25 at the time that Budget was published; how much funding each of those policies was due to receive; and whether any of those policies have been discontinued since 2021.
Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The £1 billion allocated to fund the decarbonisation of cars and vans for the financial year 2024-25 in the 2021 Spending Review was allocated to a range of policies across the Department for Transport and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (now the Department for Business and Trade).
For the Department for Transport, HM Treasury allocated £619m for policies relating to zero emission vehicles, electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure and air quality.
This sum was subsequently allocated by the Department to specific policies, including the Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Fund, the Rapid Charging Fund, the Plug-in Vehicle Grants, EV Homecharging Schemes, the Workplace Charging Scheme and the Joint Air Quality Unit’s NO2 programme. All grants are kept under continual review to ensure best value for money for the taxpayer.
The remaining funding (£333m) was allocated for the Department for Business, Energy and Industry Strategy, for the electrification of UK vehicles and their supply chain, including through the Automotive Transformation Fund Programme. This aims to support the creation of an internationally competitive EV supply chain in the UK, through research and development and capital investments.
Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to initiating a public awareness campaign regarding the accessibility of charge points for electric vehicle users, particularly in relation to (1) disabled users, and (2) personal safety considerations for all users.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government is committed to ensuring that all electric vehicle drivers can easily find public chargepoints that they can use. The Publicly Available Standard (PAS) 1899 provides specifications on designing and installing accessible chargepoints. It also includes guidance on providing a safe environment around public chargepoints, through lighting and CCTV.
The Department has funded initiatives to help enhance awareness and adoption of PAS 1899. For instance, the Energy Savings Trust were commissioned to develop and disseminate information on chargepoint accessibility through digital channels and industry events, as well as to advise and support local authorities on implementation of the Standard.
Alongside this the Government is actively encouraging local authorities, and other relevant parties, to incorporate accessibility into their procurement models, including through the £381 million Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Fund.
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to page 73 of the Autumn Budget and Spending Review 2021, which policy areas will receive funding from the £1.8 billion allocated to core net zero spend relating to the Department for Transport for the 2024-25 financial year; and how much funding as been issued to each of those policy areas for the 2024-25 financial year.
Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The £1.8 billion allocated to the Department for Transport for the financial year 2024-25 in the 2021 Spending Review supports net zero policies across zero emission vehicles (including buses) and electric vehicle charging infrastructure, the bus transformation funding to support local authority Bus Service Improvement Plans, air quality improvement measures, active travel policies, City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements, Nexus Metrofleet in Newcastle, rail electrification, and the UK’s production of sustainable aviation fuel.
£333 million of the £1.8 billion was reallocated to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, (now the Department for Business and Trade), for the electrification of UK vehicle manufacturing and their supply chains, including through the Automotive Transformation Fund Programme.
The Department’s business planning process for 2024-25 financial year remains ongoing and final plans will be published in due course as per standard practice.
Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to mandating a uniform application process for all distribution network operators to reduce costs and delays and to level the playing field for electric vehicle charge point operators.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
As set out in the Connections Action Plan, Government is committed to improving the connections process for all customers including electric vehicle chargepoint operators.
In the Connections Action Plan, Ofgem committed to reviewing to end connection process to improve customer experience and ensure network companies provide a more consistent service to customers. This review will explore the incentives and penalties for network companies.
Building on this work, the Grid Connections Review announced in the Plan for Drivers will investigate specific issues the chargepoint sector is facing when looking to reinforce the grid. This includes exploring how we can work with network companies to provide a more consistent application process. The outcomes of the review are expected to be published in Spring 2024.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to issuing guidance on the placement and design of (1) electric vehicle charging infrastructure, and (2) micromobility parking provision.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
All EV drivers should be able to easily find public chargepoints they can use, and accessibility should be embedded in public chargepoint design from the outset. The Government and industry sponsored, Publicly Available Standard (PAS) 1899 provides specifications on the placement, design and installation of accessible public EV chargepoints.
The Government has extended its e-scooter trials until May 2026 to enable us to build on current learning across areas including usage, safety, parking provision and environmental impacts. The Department’s guidance for local authorities and operators taking part in trials sets out that appropriate parking provision should be provided to ensure e-scooters do not become obstructive.
Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Davies of Gower on 22 February (HL2450), whether the LEVI Fund can be used for the provision of lamp-post charging; and what standards they have set with electricity suppliers to facilitate the provision of those additional charging points.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The £381 million Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund, launched in March 2023, aims to deliver a step-change in the deployment of local, primarily low power on-street charging infrastructure across England. A condition of the LEVI Capital Fund is that the majority of project costs must be related to the installation of lower-powered infrastructure suitable for local charging, such as lamp column chargepoints.
As part of their LEVI application, local authorities must provide evidence of engagement with their distribution network operator (DNO) regarding their proposed LEVI project. This allows DNOs to plan and maintain greater awareness of the need for grid upgrades. In the Plan for Drivers, Government committed to work with DNOs and key industry stakeholders on wider challenges to chargepoint rollout to overcome chargepoint installation barriers. This builds on the commitments and announcements in the DESNZ Connections Action Plan and Powering up Britain paper.
Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to mandating electric vehicle charging point accessibility standards to remove any economic disadvantages incurred through voluntary compliance by charge point operators.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government is committed to ensuring that all electric vehicle drivers can easily find public chargepoints that they can use.
The Publicly Available Standard (PAS) 1899 provides specifications on designing and installing accessible chargepoints. Compliance with PAS 1899 is currently voluntary. However, Government is actively encouraging local authorities, and other relevant parties, to incorporate accessibility into their procurement models, including through the Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Fund. This £381 million fund will support local authorities to work with industry to ensure that the transition to EVs takes place in every part of the country.
The Department will continue to monitor progress to assess whether further intervention is required, including through a 24-month review into implementation of PAS 1899, launched in December 2023 and led by the British Standards Institution.