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. 5 recommendation 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.