To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to increase the number of electric car charging points in rural parts of England.
Answered on
17 November 2021
The Department has committed over £1.3 billion to accelerate the roll out of charging infrastructure on motorways and major A roads, in homes and businesses and on-street. This funding includes the Local EV Infrastructure Fund, which will be available to English local authorities in 2022/3. This fund will facilitate the roll-out of larger scale charging infrastructure projects across the country.
Local authorities in rural areas are also able to take advantage of the On-street Residential Chargepoint Scheme, which assists them with the cost of installing chargepoints on residential streets for their residents without access to private parking.
To support local authorities in accessing this funding, DfT funds Energy Saving Trust to offer expert advice on EV charging and support on developing EV strategies. Energy Saving Trust, in partnership with DfT, also hosts a library of webinars and guidance for local authorities on installing charging points. This includes webinars specifically for rural local authorities.