Maria Caulfield, Member of Parliament for Lewes, has welcomed the announcement that the government is investing £5 million in electrical vehicle charging infrastructure in East Sussex as part of the Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund.
East Sussex is one of 3 local authorities outside of London who have received this funding which will support the installation of thousands of new chargers, ensuring the rollout continues at pace to support drivers in every area of the country.
Through the LEVI capability funding, almost 100 dedicated EV officers have been newly recruited to support chargepoint procurement. To aid local authorities in building a skilled workforce and delivering their charging projects, the government is also launching the electric vehicle infrastructure (EVI) training course for their officers, which will open to all local authorities from mid-March following a successful trial.
More and more drivers are making the switch to electric vehicles, with fully electric vehicles accounting for over 16% of the new UK car market in 2023, according to industry statistics. The number of plug-in vehicles in the UK has also risen to over 1.2 million, of which 770,000 are fully battery-electric, meaning more and more drivers are making the switch.
As this number continues to grow, government is investing alongside industry in EV infrastructure to ensure we meet our climate change commitments, while charting the fairest path to net zero which does not unnecessarily burden families.
Commenting on the announcement, Maria Caulfield MP said:
“I very much welcome this investment of £5 million locally, many residents have contacted me and informed me one of the main reasons stopping them from purchasing an electric vehicle is the lack of charging infrastructure locally. Hopefully this funding will enable us to make progress in this area and see many more charging points.”