Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Electric Vehicles

Thursday 17 March 2022 · 5 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 1 Partly answered 4 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Ministerial figures show 29,500 public EV charging points with a 37% increase in rapid chargers.
  • The Secretary of State considers additional measures to support electric vehicle transition.
  • Seven hundred and five buses have been ordered through the zero-emission bus regional areas scheme.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Bill Esterson Lab Sefton Central
Transport Energy
Context

The National Infrastructure Commission reported that the UK requires 480,000 EV charging points for a full transition to electric vehicles. Currently, only 28,000 publicly available charging points and 1,000 on-street charging points outside London exist.

Question

Given the National Infrastructure Commission's figures showing that there are currently 28,000 public EV charging points and just 7,600 new installations last year, how does the Secretary of State expect motorists to be able to transition to electric vehicles when the Government is not delivering adequate charging infrastructure?

Answer from Grant Shapps

The hon. Gentleman presents a partial picture because he forgets that there are 300,000 chargers installed at people's homes, with Government support. In addition, the figures that he quoted are now out of date. There are 29,500 public installations, 4,500 of which are rapid chargers—a 37% increase in 2021 alone. We will be ready for everybody to go electric.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific ask about EV charging station sufficiency was not directly addressed

How: Presents A Partial Picture, Ignores Current Figures

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Q2 Sarah Green Lib Dem Chesham and Amersham
Transport Energy
Context

The BVRLA has highlighted the prohibitive cost of installing electric vehicle charging stations for company fleets, especially considering the need to install substations at a high cost.

Question

With the cost of installing a substation reaching hundreds of thousands of pounds, will the Secretary of State consider introducing a depot grant to assist companies with fleet vehicles in converting them to electric cars?

Answer from Grant Shapps

We are always looking at what more we can do. We put in £1.9 billion in the 2020 spending review, and we have enhanced that with an extra £620 million for the transition. I will always look at what else can be done. Electric vehicles—I can attest to this because I have driven one for several years—are dramatically cheaper than equivalent fuel vehicles, albeit that the infrastructure needs to be got right to make sure that they are chargeable.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific ask about a depot grant was not addressed directly

How: Looking At What More Can Be Done

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Q3 Bill Esterson Lab Sefton Central
Transport Energy
Context

The National Infrastructure Commission reported that the UK needs 480,000 EV charging points to fully transition to electric vehicles. Currently, there are only 29,500 public installations.

Question

Given the current rate of installation—7,600 new chargers last year—at this pace, it would take until 2080 for everyone to be able to use an electric car. How does the Secretary of State expect motorists to transition to EVs if there is a significant shortfall in charging infrastructure?

Answer from Grant Shapps

The hon. Gentleman presents a partial picture because he forgets that there are 300,000 chargers installed at people's homes, with Government support. In addition, the figures that he quoted are now out of date. There are 29,500 public installations, 4,500 of which are rapid chargers—a 37% increase in 2021 alone. We will be ready for everybody to go electric.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific ask about shortfall was not directly addressed

How: Presents A Partial Picture, Ignores Current Figures

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Q4 Gavin Newlands SNP
Climate Energy
Context

The Prime Minister promised to deliver 4,000 zero-emission buses by the start of 2025. However, only up to 500 buses have been funded through the ZEBRA process since its launch.

Question

Since the launch of the zero-emission bus regional areas scheme, how many buses have been ordered through the standard process?

Answer from Grant Shapps

Seven hundred and five.

Answered
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Q5 Gavin Newlands SNP
Transport Climate
Context

The Scottish Government has delivered nearly 550 buses through their SULEB scheme, while the UK Government have not ordered any buses through the ZEBRA process despite a promise of delivering 4,000 zero-emission buses by 2025.

Question

Given that the Prime Minister pledged to deliver 4,000 zero-emission buses but only six months later, the Scottish Government delivered nearly 550 through their SULEB scheme, when will these 4,000 buses be delivered?

Answer from Grant Shapps

As we said in our manifesto, we will deliver the 4,000 buses during this Parliament, and we are on track to do so. I have just given the hon. Gentleman the up-to-date information on the number already funded.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific ask about delivery timeline was not directly addressed

How: Manifesto Commitment

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