The government has announced new measures to support electric vehicle (EV) drivers from the government’s Plan for Drivers.
Anthony Browne, Technology and Decarbonisation Minister is to launch funding support for schools in Nottingham today, providing grants of up to 75% of the cost to buy and install charge points, up to £2,500 per socket, up from the previous £350.
The grants are funded by the Department for Transport and are part of the Workplace Charging Scheme which is available for state-funded schools, colleges, nurseries and academies to boost the charge point facilities for staff and visitors.
Minister for the School System and Student Finance at the Department for Education, Baroness Barran, said:
“This is an exciting opportunity for schools across England to become part of an ongoing move towards a greener public sector. Schools engaging with this grant will be supporting the development of green infrastructure, helping to improve their local environments.
“Developing a greener education estate is a key element of our sustainability and climate change strategy. The expansion of this grant supports our ambition to improve the sustainability of our schools in the ongoing move towards net zero.”
The first payments for charging projects have been approved to 3 local authorities from East Sussex to North Yorkshire, and 2 London boroughs via the government’s Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund, where £381 million is being made available to local authorities across the country.
Technology and Decarbonisation Minister, Anthony Browne, said:
“We’re getting on with delivering our Plan for Drivers, and this latest set of measures will mean EV owners everywhere benefit from easier and more convenient access to charge points.
“This government has already spent over £2 billion to ensure a smooth switch to EVs, and we’re committed to supporting drivers as we transition towards net zero in a proportionate way that doesn’t burden working people.”
In addition, the government is today launching a consultation to look at ways to speed up charge point installation across the country. The proposals would give charge point operators (CPOs) the right to carry out street works using a permit rather than a licence.
Permits can be issued much faster, taking days instead of months, and are significantly cheaper to obtain than licences, reducing costs for operators and speeding up the charge point rollout for drivers.
