To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what funding his Department has allocated for the purpose of developing electric cars in the last 12 months. (304039)

The Department is supporting the development of electric vehicles through a number of measures including the Technology Strategy Board led Low Carbon Vehicle Innovation Platform, worth approximately £150 million of public sector support; the work of the Research Councils and Energy Technologies Institute; and the Automotive Assistance Programme.

In the last year, the Technology Strategy Board's Innovation Platform has resulted in support for:

A £50 million Low Carbon Vehicle Demonstrator Programme (with public sector funding of £25 million, announced in 2008 and launched in June 2009), which will see more than 340 vehicles being trialled in several UK regions, managed through eight industry-led consortiums, within the next six to eighteen months—the biggest project of its kind in the world.

The development of an all-electric urban car with the provision of grant funding of £4.5 million for a £9 million project led by Gordon Murray Design, which will develop four prototypes of the vehicle by February 2011.

10 innovative research projects through a £10m investment in business led collaborative R and D projects that will lead to the development of cutting-edge ultra efficient electrical systems for electric and hybrid vehicles, and

A number of collaborative R and D projects, which were allocated funding in prior years, but where spend has continued this year as the projects are typically of three to four years duration.

The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) has committed £1.5 million to projects commencing in 2009 relating to the development of electric vehicles. This brings their current portfolio of projects to £9.22 million in total. In addition, EPSRC supports a broader range of underpinning research into fuel cells, energy storage and networks and grids.

In July, the Energy Technologies Institute announced it would be committing £3 million to the first stage of a project to provide an evaluation of the consumer response to plug-in vehicles and the supporting infrastructure.

In September, the Department also announced an offer of a £10 million loan to Tata Motors European Technical Centre to support £25 million of investment to develop and manufacture electric vehicles in Coventry. Although the company has now secured alternative funding, it has voiced its appreciation for the offer under the Automotive Assistance Programme and the Government remain ready to support the company should it require it.

To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent discussions he has had on the development of electric cars. (304048)

I have had a range of discussions with the automotive sector about electric vehicles including, for example, with JLR, GM, BMW, Nissan and Toyota.