Electric vehicles: Government must overcome delays for charging network rollout to succeed, says PAC
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Patchy availability for electric vehicle (EV) charging plagues
large swathes of UK motorways. In a report published today, the
Public Accounts Committee (PAC) finds Government has been slow to
address gaps in charge point provision and calls for delays in the
EV charging roll-out to be addressed. It also raises concerns
around regional divides and inequalities for different groups of
drivers which, without action, risk being baked into the roll-out.
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Patchy availability for electric vehicle (EV) charging plagues large swathes of UK motorways. In a report published today, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) finds Government has been slow to address gaps in charge point provision and calls for delays in the EV charging roll-out to be addressed. It also raises concerns around regional divides and inequalities for different groups of drivers which, without action, risk being baked into the roll-out. To give drivers confidence to make the switch to electric vehicles, charge points need to be installed in advance of need. Motorway service areas in particular act as a ‘shop window' for drivers to feel secure that charge points are widespread. However, approximately a third of the 114 areas had yet to meet DfT's original ambitions for each to have six ultra-rapid charge points by the end of 2023. In 2020, Government announced £950m to future-proof electricity capacity on strategic roads. The PAC's report finds that nearly five years later, DfT had yet to issue any of this funding. The PAC is calling on DfT to plan for what is needed to support the widespread uptake of EVs and the charge point roll-out. While Government is on track to reach the minimum 300,000 points needed by 2030, 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 charge points. The report finds that rural areas may continue to be less commercially viable for operators and could require further government intervention. As well as this stark regional divide, the report raises concerns around the impact on drivers with disabilities, those without access to off street parking and disadvantaged groups. The interests of disabled drivers have been left behind in the rollout, with no charge points in the UK currently fully compliant with accessibility standards which DfT itself helped to create. The report notes 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%). Should these impacts not be remedied, different and sometimes disadvantaged groups will face inequalities in the cost of driving. The report also highlights delays in the programme designed to support local authorities in England to install charge points where they are most needed. Only 10 out of 78 installation projects had been approved for delivery at October 2024, against a March 2025 deadline. These delays have meant that many local authorities will be procuring for projects at similar times, posing the risk that the market may not have the capacity to serve them all. Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP, Chair of the Committee, said: “It is welcome to see the EV charging roll-out beginning to ramp up, with all the implicit benefits that bearing down on emissions will bring. But this roll-out is not currently taking place equally across the nation. Meeting numerical targets for charging points is all very well. Delivering thousands of points allowing Londoners to easily zip around the capital while leaving the rest of the UK's network patchy is obviously an outcome to be avoided. 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 charge point 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. Government similarly needs to understand how to remedy financial inequalities for those who have no choice but to use public charge points. Our report therefore challenges the Government – it must move at pace to overcome current delays and encourage take-up, while taking the time to ensure no-one gets left behind in this all-important shift to the future.” PAC report conclusions and recommendations There is a clear geographical divide in the location of public charge points. Around 73,000 public charge points were installed in the UK as of January 2025, which is on track to reach the 300,000 the Department estimates is the minimum needed by 2030. These have not been evenly spread, with 43% of public charge points being in London and the South-East. While the Department's local electric vehicle infrastructure (LEVI) programme aims to improve the regional spread of charge points across the country, some areas, such as rural ones, may continue to be less commercially viable for operators and may require further government intervention. Areas will have very different needs depending on local differences, for example in how much off-street parking is available for private charge points or whether an area attracts large numbers of seasonal tourists. However, the Department's current measure of the number of ‘charge points per head' in each region does not reflect these variations and what is required in the future. The Department requires a more detailed understanding to identify where further support may be needed. Recommendation 1. As part of its Treasury Minute Response, the Department should set out how identifies and assesses sub-regional variability in public charge point need, and how it might use this to see where intervention is needed in future. Delays to the Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) programme mean that local authorities need further support. The £450m LEVI programme supports local authorities in England to install charge points where they identify they are most needed. In setting up the programme the Department was able to apply lessons from its previous work, such as providing funding to build capability and providing central support, which has resulted in all eligible local authorities engaging with the LEVI programme. However, the Department expected local authorities to move at a quick pace, and acknowledged that more time than expected was needed to build local authority capacity and respond to issues that emerged. These issues have led to delays; as of October 2024 only 10 out of 78 projects had been approved for delivery against a March 2025 deadline. These delays have meant that many local authorities will be procuring at similar times, posing the risk that the market may not have the capacity to serve them all and some procurements fail. The Department must ensure that local authorities remain supported to conduct successful procurements and secure good value through competition between operators. It's extension of the programme's capability funding beyond March 2025 is a welcome development in maintaining its central support. Recommendation 2. The Department should write to the committee within six months with an update on progress with LEVI, in particular:
The Department has been slow to ensure the availability of ultra-rapid charge points at motorway service areas. Motorway service areas are vital for providing confidence to drivers that charge points are widespread and will be available on longer journeys. The Department had an ambition that operators would install 6 ultra-rapid charge points at every motorway service area by the end of 2023. By January 2025, only 80 out of 114 motorway service areas had met this target. The number of ultra-rapid charge points within one mile of the wider strategic road network has grown more quickly than the Department expected, with 2,377 of these installed in July 2024, against a target of 2,500 by 2030. However, there remain significant stretches of the network with too few charge points. In 2020, the Department announced the rapid charging fund (RCF), intended to future-proof electricity capacity on the strategic road network in the longer term by part-funding the capital costs of upgraded grid connections. But after nearly five years the Department has yet to issue any of its £950 million RCF funding, and it remains to be seen how it will support charging at motorway service areas in the longer term. Recommendation 3. The Department should write to the committee within six months setting out the steps it is taking to address gaps in ultra-rapid charge point provision across the strategic road network, particularly at motorway service areas. The Department has put in place regulations to improve consumer experience, but some drivers pay significantly more than others to charge their vehicles. In 2023, the Department introduced the Public Charge point Regulations to address early consumer concerns around price transparency, payment complexity and reliability. Public charge points also need to provide a range of live data, including whether they are available to use. It is too early to say whether these regulations are working in practice, and localised issues or non-compliance may emerge. The Department's ongoing consumer research may also find new concerns that could require intervention. Drivers who have no option but to rely on public charge points pay significantly more to charge their vehicles, in part due to higher value added tax being charged, typically 20% compared to 5% VAT, which particularly affects those without access to off-street parking. While the Department monitors the costs of different charging behaviours and has made efforts to widen access to cheaper private home charging, it was unable to describe how these differing costs fall on different groups in society. Should these differential impacts not be understood and remedied, different and sometimes disadvantaged groups will face inequalities in the cost of driving. Recommendation 4. As part of its Treasury Minute Response, the Department should set out:
The interests of drivers with disabilities have been left behind in the rollout of public charge points. By 2035, 1.35 million drivers with disabilities are expected to be partially or wholly dependent on public charge points, but many charge points, or their surrounding environment, have features which make them inaccessible. The Department co-sponsored the creation of a standard for charge point accessibility. However, the Department has not mandated its use and the Motability Foundation report that two years on from its launch, there are still no charge points in the UK which are fully compliant with the standard. Charge point operators and local authorities have reported that they need to better understand what compliance with the standard means in practice. In response, the Department put in place a review of the standard to identify practical issues with it, and to understand what actions may be needed to improve charge point accessibility. This could include working with other countries to align accessibility standards, which would help build international supply chains for components. Failure to address problems with uptake of the standard quickly will mean that the network will continue to develop without meeting the needs of drivers with disabilities. Recommendation 5. As part of its Treasury Minute Response, the Department should set out:
The Department has more to do in planning ahead for the widespread adoption of electric vehicles. The uptake of electric vehicles and rollout of public charge points is expected to increase over the coming years, as new petrol and diesel vehicle sales are phased out. The Department must now determine what actions are needed for the next phase of the rollout in ensuring that the public charging network can meet the needs of all drivers, and not just enthusiastic early adopters of electric vehicles. This includes understanding what challenges might remain in getting to the harder to reach locations and users. The Government recognises that the processes to receive electricity grid connections are unfit for purpose and take too long. Government is working with others to speed this up, but the queue is growing, with competing demands from other activities which may not all be satisfied if grid connections do not accelerate. The Department has made changes to simplify planning processes, but there remain bottlenecks, such as changes to traffic regulation orders, which will take longer to address. Wider aspects to support the transition such as considering the charge point demand created by new roads investment and ensuring the fire safety of vehicles will also need addressing. Not all major road schemes deliver more charging points and more co-ordinated approach between the Department of Transport and Department for Energy Security and Net Zero could improve this. Recommendation 6. As part of its Treasury Minute Response, the Department should set out:
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