UK Inquiry Tracker

Public charge points for electric vehicles

Public Accounts Committee Closed Inquiry

Opened: 29 Nov 2024 Closed: 16 May 2025 Parliament page

The UK’s domestic transport sector was responsible for almost 30% of greenhouse gas emissions in 2023. To combat this, the Government has a manifesto commitment to end the sale on new combustion-only (petrol or diesel) vehicles by 2030. To support this transition, an estimated 300,000 Electric Vehicle (EV) public charging … Read more The UK’s domestic transport sector was responsible for almost 30% of greenhouse gas emissions in 2023. To combat this, the Government has a manifesto commitment to end the sale on new combustion-only (petrol or diesel) vehicles by 2030. To support this transition, an estimated 300,000 Electric Vehicle (EV) public charging points will need to be installed in the same time frame. The National Audit Office (NAO) recently launched an investigation into how successful the Government has been in identifying and mitigating the challenges likely to impede a successful rollout of charging infrastructure. They will also be examining if the Department for Transport (DfT) is likely to achieve value for money in the rollout. In 2021, the Committee reported on the challenges likely to prevent the Government from reaching its target of phasing out the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2035. The Committee did not believe that the Government had a sufficient strategy to ensure all EV owners would have easy access to charging points, particularly those without access to off-street parking. Following the Committee’s report, the Department for Transport released their UK electric vehicle infrastructure strategy which outlined their strategy to address this issue. Based on the NAO’s work, the Committee will take evidence from senior officials from the Department for Transport, with likely focuses including: If the Department has a strategy to address the geographical disparities in the availability of EV charging points; If sufficient funds are available to support local authorities to install public charging stations and; The accessibility of public charging infrastructure Please note the Committee is unable to help with individual cases. Please look at the requirements for written evidence submissions and note that the Committee cannot accept material as evidence that is published elsewhere. The deadline date for submitting evidence will be updated on this page once confirmed. Show less

5 Recommendations

26 Conclusions

1 Report

1 Oral session

3 Letters

1 Event

Activity timeline 7 events

4 Sep
2025

Correspondence

Letter from the Permanent Secretary of the Department for Transport relating to the updated response on the Treasury Minute response on the…

1 Jul
2025

Correspondence

Letter to the Interim Permanent Secretary of the Department for Transport relating to the Treasury Minute Response on PAC's 14th Report of …

16 May
2025

Report published

Treasury minutes: Government response to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Fourteenth report from Session 2024-25

12 Mar
2025

Report published

14th Report - Public charge points for electric vehicles

11 Feb
2025

Correspondence

Letter from the Second Permanent Secretary for the Department for Transport relating to the oral evidence session held on 20 January 2025, …

20 Jan
2025

Oral evidence

Oral evidence session

20 Jan
2025

Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Grimond Room, Portcullis House

Committee event

Oral evidence sessions 1 session

20 Jan 2025

View on parliament.uk

Jo Shanmugalingam · Department for Transport Nick Shaw · Office for Zero Emission Vehicles Richard Bruce CBE · Office for Zero Emission Vehicles Directorate

Reports 1 report · click to expand

Title	HC No.	Published	Items	Response
14th Report - Public charge points for electric vehicles	HC 512	12 Mar 2025	31	Responded

Recommendations & Conclusions

4 results

5 Recommendation Acknowledged

14th Report - Public charge points…

Set out actions to improve charge point accessibility and align international standards

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, … Read more

Government Response

The government stated it is reviewing the PAS 1899:2022 accessibility standard with stakeholders and will confirm recommendations and proposed next steps 'in due course'. It will also continue to monitor international standards and drive efforts to harmonise in the future.

HM Treasury

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25 Conclusion Acknowledged

14th Report - Public charge points…

Drivers reliant on public charge points pay significantly more due to VAT and other costs

The Department expects that most people will charge their vehicles at home using private charge points, however, those reliant solely on public charging, such as those without access to off–street parking, pay significantly more to charge their vehicles. This is … Read more

Government Response

The government agrees with the committee's conclusion, stating it has appointed OPSS to regulate the Public Charge Point Regulations 2023, already monitors the cost of charging across various channels, and will continue to work with HM Treasury to understand cost variances and policy impacts on public charging prices.

HM Treasury

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28 Conclusion Acknowledged

14th Report - Public charge points…

Many public charge points remain inaccessible for disabled drivers despite new accessibility standards

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. These include features such as charge points … Read more

Government Response

The government agrees with the Committee's conclusion, acknowledging the need for an accessible chargepoint network, and highlights its ongoing work to review the Publicly Available Specification (PAS) 1899:2022 standard for accessibility, with recommendations and next steps to be confirmed in due course.

HM Treasury

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31 Conclusion Acknowledged

14th Report - Public charge points…

Public charge point network failing to meet disabled drivers' needs without standard.

Many disabled people are reliant on their cars as existing public transport does not adequately cater for their needs.58 Failure to address problems with the uptake of the standard will mean that the public charge point network will continue to … Read more

Government Response

The government agrees that the chargepoint network needs to work for all users and is currently reviewing the Publicly Available Specification (PAS) 1899:2022 standard for accessibility, with recommendations and proposed next steps to be confirmed in due course. It will also continue to monitor international standards.

HM Treasury

View details

Government Response AI assessment · 31 of 5 classified

Accepted 19

Accepted in Part 1

Acknowledged 4

Deferred 4

Not Addressed 3

Total 5 recs + 26 conclusions

Correspondence 3 letters

4 Sep 2025 To committee Letter from the Permanent Secretary of the Department for Transport relating to the updated response on the Treasury Minute response on the 14th Report of Session 2024-25, Public charge points for electric vehicles, 14 July 2025

Parliament page

1 Jul 2025 From committee Letter to the Interim Permanent Secretary of the Department for Transport relating to the Treasury Minute Response on PAC's 14th Report of Session 2024-25, Public charge points for electric vehicles, 30 June 2025

Parliament page

11 Feb 2025 To committee Letter from the Second Permanent Secretary for the Department for Transport relating to the oral evidence session held on 20 January 2025, follow up on potential fire risk of electric vehicles, 31 January 2025

Parliament page