Please note that this page contains information and links most relevant for people living in England.
About the local electric vehicle infrastructure (LEVI) fund
The UK Government’s LEVI fund supports local authorities in England to work with the chargepoint industry, to improve the roll out and commercialisation of local charging infrastructure.
These public chargepoints will help residents who don’t have off-street parking and need to charge their electric vehicles (EVs).
The fund includes:
Capital funding to contribute to the costs of delivering chargepoints.
Capability funding for local authorities to employ and train new staff specifically to plan and deliver chargepoint infrastructure.
The LEVI fund builds on the existing On-street residential chargepoint scheme (ORCS), which is now closed to new applications.
Capital fund
Objectives
The LEVI Capital fund aims to:
deliver a step-change in the deployment of local, primarily low power, on-street charging infrastructure across England
accelerate the commercialisation of, and investment in, the local charging infrastructure sector
Application process
For local authorities to access their indicative funding, they must follow a three-stage process:
There are three stages to the LEVI Capital fund application process:
Stage one: expression of interest
Stage two: application form, criteria compliance and tender document review
Local authorities can access the LEVI Knowledge Repository which contains information and advice on planning and delivering EV infrastructure.
Local authorities must show evidence of how they plan to use their LEVI capital funding by completing an expression of interest (EOI) form. All local authorities will need to submit their EOI by 26 May 2023.
During the EOI stage, local authorities were asked if they’d like to receive their capital funding in either the 2023/2024 financial year (referred to as tranche one during the application process) or the 2024/2025 financial year (tranche two).
Local authorities indicated their preferred tranche based on how prepared they were to submit a full LEVI Capital fund application and receive funding.
The LEVI Support Body assessed the EOIs and determine which tranche the local authority will progress in. The Support Body will notify local authorities of their tranche, and then help local authorities with the next stage of their application.
Local authorities that have been assigned a tranche will be given access to the stage two application form. The application form will ask local authorities to produce a draft tender document for review. Applications must satisfy the scope and conditions of the LEVI fund, as set out in pages 15 to 19 of the LEVI Capital Fund information pack.
We have developed a concession contract Heads of Terms for local authorities seeking to deploy electric vehicle infrastructure. This provides best practice guidance on the key contractual and commercial terms that local authorities will need to consider for a contract. We advise local authorities to use these Heads of Terms, however it is not mandatory to do so.
The deadline for stage two applications for 2023/2024 funding (tranche one) was 30 November 2023. The application deadline for 2024/2025 funding (tranche two) is 19 July 2024. Local authorities in both tranche one and tranche two will receive ongoing support from the Support Body, and will be encouraged to complete their applications ahead of final deadlines.
Once the stage two application form has been approved, 90% of funding will be released and the local authority can open procurement for a provider(s). The final 10% of funding will be delivered following stage three of the application process (see below).
Local authorities that have completed stages one and two will submit their draft EV infrastructure contract to the Support Body for review and approval. This will be assessed to determine whether the commercial arrangement between local authorities and private sector partners meet the fund criteria.
Once the criteria have been met, the Support Body will give local authorities approval to sign their contract. Following this stage, the final 10% of funding will be paid to the local authority.
Capital fund Q&A
LEVI funding will be allocated to tier 1 local authorities in England. This means funding will be made available to county councils, unitary authorities or combined authorities. Separate arrangements have been made for London boroughs. The funding will support infrastructure delivery across the entire authority.
To make sure the constituent authorities’ needs are considered by LEVI-eligible local authorities, the LEVI Support Body will ask for letters of support from the relevant tier two authorities (or constituent authorities in a combined authority) for LEVI proposals.
Eligible local authorities will be informed of their LEVI capital funding amount. Funding has been determined for each local authority using a data-led approach.
Alongside public funding, local authorities will need to secure further investment to support the development of a more self-sufficient local chargepoint market ahead of the 2035 phase out date.
All capital costs associated with the installation of EV chargepoints are eligible for funding. This includes chargepoint hardware, electrical connection costs, civil engineering costs and other installation costs.
The LEVI Fund is intended to fund primarily lower powered local chargepoints. Rapid charging is eligible for funding as part of projects, but it’s expected that most of the funding supports delivery of lower powered chargepoints in line with LEVI Fund objectives.
Projects must demonstrate that they primarily focus on low powered chargepoints to benefit residents without off-street parking. More specific use cases can include:
Residents using local authority supported car clubs.
Commuting residents where the majority do not have off-street parking e.g. car parks near those homes.
The following users can also benefit from LEVI projects where there is sound commercial reasoning, but the minority of chargepoints must solely benefit them:
Tourists/customers/visitors/non-residential commuters e.g. car park and ride.
Private hire vehicle/ taxi drivers using ranks.
Commercial vehicle drivers (including cars and vans), excluding at the businesses’ address.
The LEVI fund aims to address regional and charging inequality through providing funding across England.
The fund will help to make sure that no part of the country is left behind.
Local authorities must collaborate within their area of allocated funding. This will mean greater coordination, scale and private sector investment in projects.
Outside of allocation areas, local authorities are also encouraged to work together and identify opportunities to join-up infrastructure deployment.
Capability fund
Objectives
The LEVI Capability fund is available to tier 1 local authorities in England. The Capability fund aims to:
increase the capacity and capability of every tier 1 local authority to plan and deliver EV infrastructure
enable every tier 1 local authority to have a published EV infrastructure strategy for its area
enable every tier 1 local authority to take advantage of the LEVI capital fund
Application process and timeline
On 21 February 2023, the government launched the FY 22/23 Capability fund. The Department for Transport contacted tier 1 local authorities to notify them of their Capability Fund allocation, and authorities would have completed and submitted a proforma to the LEVI Support Body by 10 March 2023 to have received their FY22/23 payment.
On 30 March 2023, further capability funding was announced for FYs 23/24 and 24/25. Local authorities were informed of their funding allocation and were invited to submit updated proforma then grant documentation to the LEVI Support Body. Information on when 23/24 payments will be made will also be provided.
Through new and internal recruitment of existing local authority officers, and increased full-time equivalent (FTE), the LEVI Capability fund has supported over 150 EVI officers as of March 2024.
Funding has been made available to county councils, unitary authorities and combined authorities, where applicable. Combined authorities will be allocated and issued funding on behalf of authorities in their region.
There is a bespoke approach for London that involves Transport for London and London councils.
Yes. We welcome proposals where local authorities have found an opportunity to join up infrastructure capability and deployment.
Yes. Match funding is encouraged, and local authorities can use the grant funding to help deliver their plans.
Yes. Local authorities should identify how the resource funding can best support them to increase their capability to deliver EV infrastructure. This could mean one or multiple full-time members of staff across different roles and teams. The proposed approach should be explained in the proposal.
The LEVI Support Body will provide feedback and work with local authorities if initial proposals require further consideration.
The LEVI Support Body is available to talk about resourcing and recruitment. It should be noted that the scheme is aimed at securing and developing resource rather than specifically experienced technical experts, and the LEVI Support Body will provide tools to help with upskilling staff.
Local authorities should take advantage of upcoming onboarding and training services provided by Energy Saving Trust through the Local Government Support Programme. This will be valuable for new staff of all experience levels.
The funding is available for a set period, but we encourage all local authorities to think about how to create a lasting impact with the funding.
Electric vehicle infrastructure training course for local authorities
A UK Government-funded electric vehicle infrastructure (EVI) training course is available to register for. The course is designed to upskill local authority officers as they coordinate the deployment of public charging infrastructure. Topics covered include EVI technology, users and stakeholders, EVI strategy, EVI procurement, deployment and operations.
Applications are now open for cohorts to sign up to the course and start learning in March or April 2024. Additional courses are planned for September 2024 and January 2025.
The UK Government’s Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV) is funding one place per tier-one local authority or London Borough. Additional places are available for a fee.
Cenex delivers the National EV Insight & Strategy (NEVIS) tool. NEVIS supplies reliable, independent, up-to-date information about EVs and EV infrastructure both locally and nationally.
As part of Cenex’s LEVI Support Body role, NEVIS is available to all English local authorities free of charge until March 2025. Applicable local authority officers and members can access NEVIS using their work email address. Other similar software tools are available and use of NEVIS is not compulsory.
The LEVI Support Body (Energy Saving Trust, Cenex and PA Consulting) will provide ongoing support and guidance to all applicants. The support body is the first point of contact for any queries or questions about the LEVI scheme.
Energy Saving Trust is an independent organisation dedicated to promoting energy efficiency, low carbon transport and sustainable energy use. We aim to address the climate emergency and deliver the wider benefits of clean energy as the UK transitions to net zero.
Cenex leads the LEVI Fund Support Body’s technical advice and guidance for local authorities, building on its longstanding expertise in the design, development and delivery of EV charging strategies.
PA Consulting is a global innovation and technology consultancy with a strong track record in Clean and Smart Mobility, including transport strategy, economics, analytics and digital platforms.
