THERE has been a significant increase in electric vehicles across Fife as new data reveals charging points are not keeping pace.

Thinktank the Policy Exchange says there are still charging "blackspots" in regions across the UK, adding the speed of installations needs to increase to meet growing demand.

There were 1,093 electric vehicles licensed to addresses in Fife at the end of September 2020, according to latest DfT data – up by 45 per cent from 756 in September 2019.

However, there were 93 public charging points in Fife at the start of January, which is a rate of 25 per 100,000 people, lower than the UK average of 31.

Since October 2019 – when figures began at a local authority level – Fife has seen just four devices added to its supply.

Meanwhile, across the UK, an additional 5,700 devices were made available over the same period, taking the total number up to 20,800 at the start of this year.

In a bid to further boost numbers, transport minister Grant Shapps announced an extra £20 million was to be made available for local authorities.

However, a report by the Policy Exchange says the speed of the rollout needs to increase from the current rate to meet the planned ban on new petrol and diesel cars in 2030.

It also found a gap in coverage of the charging points across the UK, claiming the Government's funding scheme for local authorities had not been evenly distributed.

In November, Prime Minister Boris Johnson brought forward the ban on petrol car sales from 2040 to 2030 as part of a "green industrial revolution" to tackle climate change.

A DfT spokesperson said: "This Government has committed £1.3 billion to rolling out charging infrastructure, and we would urge councils to use the funding we have made available to ensure their residents can access charge points.

"We have already supported the installation of more than 150,000 residential and almost 21,000 public charge points, and with further funding announced last week, even more people are set to benefit from better charge point access."