Public Accounts Committee says Government must address gaps in EV chargepoint provision
Wed 12 March 2025
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A new report from a cross-party group of MPs on the Public Accounts Committee says Government has been slow to address gaps in chargepoint provision in the UK and highlights regional divides and inequalities between different groups of drivers which need to be tackled to avoid being 'baked into the roll-out'.
The Committee's report says that to encourage drivers to make the switch to electric vehicles, chargepoints should ideally to be installed in advance of need. Motorway service areas in particular act as a ‘shop window’ for drivers to feel secure that charging infrastructure is readily available. The report points out that, in fact, around a third of the 114 motorway service areas were behind the target (to each have six ultra-rapid charge points by the end of 2023).
The PAC says that in 2020, Government announced £950m to future-proof electricity capacity on strategic roads. However, nearly five years later, DfT had yet to issue any of this funding.
While Government is on track to reach the minimum 300,000 points needed by 2030, the PAC report says that those installed so far have not been evenly spread across the country. Too few have been installed outside of the South-East and London, which currently host 43% of all chargepoints. The report finds that rural areas have limited provision and making EV operation commercially viable for some operators may require more government intervention.
The report also raises concerns around the impact on drivers with disabilities, those without access to off-street parking and disadvantaged groups. The report highlights that drivers with no option but to rely on public charge points, in particular those without access to off-street parking, pay significantly more for charging due to higher VAT rates (typically 20% compared to 5%) and the fact that they aren't able to access much cheaper time-of-use tariffs.
The Committee says that unless these impacts aren't remedied, different and sometimes disadvantaged groups will face inequalities in the cost of driving.
Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP, Chair of the Committee, said: “This roll-out is not currently taking place equally across the nation. Meeting numerical targets for charging points is all very well... Drivers need confidence that they can use an EV without any risk of getting stranded, or they won’t make the switch. It is imperative that the motorway network has a complete range of charging points as soon as possible to provide some confidence to drivers who wish to travel about the entire country.
“It is also of deep concern that the needs of disabled drivers are being ignored. Not a single chargepoint in the country is currently fully accessible. We are risking baking a serious injustice into the fabric of a major part of our national infrastructure. It similarly needs to understand how to remedy financial inequalities for those who have no choice but to use public chargepoints.
"Our report therefore leaves challenges Government – it must move at pace to overcome current delays and encourage take-up, while taking the time to ensure noone gets left behind in this all-important shift to the future.”
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