PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Motor Vehicles: Delivery Services (29 June 2020)

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will hold discussions with representatives from major hot food delivery companies on reducing the use of petrol and diesel vehicles for customer deliveries.

Asked by:
Mark Pritchard (Conservative)

My Ministerial colleagues and I regularly meet stakeholders to discuss our ambitions for greener road transport.

The Government is investing?around?£2.5bn??with grants available for ultra-low emission vehicles, as well?as funding?to support charge point infrastructure at homes,?workplaces,?on residential streets?and across the wider roads network. This includes motorcycles and mopeds, which are often used for hot food deliveries, and which are eligible for the plug-in motorcycle grant (PIMG). The grant, which was introduced in 2017, is worth up to £1,500 to reduce the upfront cost and support the early market for these vehicles. Since its launch, over 1,900 motorbikes and mopeds have been supported by the grant scheme. The Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme (EVHS) was extended on 1 April 2020 to include eligible PIMG electric motorcycles. The scheme provides a rebate of £350 towards the cost of installing an electric vehicle chargepoint.

The Government specifically wants to target the decarbonisation of last mile deliveries in our urban areas. Since February 2018 the Department has supported the uptake of e-cargo bikes through a £2 million grant programme to help achieve this.

Answered by:
Rachel Maclean (Conservative)
7 July 2020