Home and workplace charging schemes extended for another year to support jobs and help make the UK a clean energy superpower
School teachers and EV drivers can charge their electric cars more easily with 1,407 sockets now outside schools and colleges in the UK.
Today (28 February 2025), Future of Roads Minister, Lilian Greenwood, has confirmed the landmark number of chargers that have been fitted at UK schools since March last year, thanks to £3 million from the government’s Workplace Charging Scheme (WCS).
It marks a crucial milestone in the government’s mission to boost charging infrastructure across the country. The new chargepoints at schools follow over 59,000 workplace charging sockets that the scheme has funded since 2016. In addition to schools, the workplace charging scheme supported a further 6,500 sockets in workplace car parks in 2024.
Sitting at the heart of communities, schools can also open the chargepoints to local residents and visitors, helping to fit charging around people’s daily lives and providing an additional revenue stream to schools.
The Workplace Charging Scheme, alongside the Electric Vehicle Chargepoint Grant, has also been extended for another year, the government confirmed today. This provides the certainty needed to continue rolling out chargepoints to flats, rental properties, schools, offices and workplaces so that drivers can charge in more and more places.
Future of Roads Minister, Lilian Greenwood, said:
While the government is investing almost £300 million to build 300 miles of new cycle and footways to encourage more children, parents and teachers to cycle, walk and wheel to schools, today’s announcement will also make greener journeys easier and more accessible for those who need to drive.
The UK’s public chargepoint network continues to grow every day, with over 74,000 public chargers now available across the country and a record of nearly 20,000 added last year alone.
With £200 million announced at Budget 2024 to continue powering the chargepoint rollout and £6 billion of private investment in the pipeline, the UK’s charging network will continue to see tens of thousands of chargers added in the coming years, delivering resilient infrastructure so that EV owners can drive with the confidence that they’re never too far from a socket.
Chris Norwood, Headteacher of the Northfleet School for Girls, said:
With over 382,000 EVs sold in 2024 – up a fifth on the previous year – the UK is the largest EV market in Europe. There’s never been a better time to switch to EVs, with one in 3 used electric cars under £20,000 and 21 brand new electric cars RRP under £30,000.
Owning an EV is also increasingly becoming cheaper, with drivers able to save up to £750 a year compared to petrol if they mostly charge at home.
The average range of a new electric car is now 236 miles – that’s about 2 weeks of driving for most people – all the while emitting just one-third of the greenhouse emissions of a petrol car during its lifetime.
With 24/7 helplines, contactless payments and up-to-date public chargepoint locations, charging has now become easier than ever.