The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said the Department for Transport (DfT) has been slow to ensure available rapid charge points on motorways and has called for delays in the EV charging roll-out to be addressed.
The committee also raised concerns about regional divides and inequalities for different groups of drivers.
A report by the committee entitled Public charge points for electric vehicles said that to give drivers confidence to make the switch to EVs, charge points need to be installed in advance of need.
The report noted that 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 the DfT’s original ambitions for each to have six ultra-rapid charge points by the end of 2023.
In 2020, the Government announced £950m to future-proof electricity capacity on strategic roads. But the committee report found that nearly five years later, the DfT had yet to issue any of this funding.
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The PAC is calling on the DfT to plan for what is needed to support the widespread uptake of EVs and the charge point roll-out.
Regional disparities
While the 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. For example, 43% of all charge points installed are in London and the South East.
The report noted that rural areas may continue to be less commercially viable for operators and so could require further Government intervention.
As well as this stark regional divide, the report raised concerns around the impact on drivers with disabilities, those without access to off-street parking and disadvantaged groups. The committee said the interests of disabled drivers have been left behind in the roll-out, with no charge points in the UK currently fully compliant with accessibility standards – which the 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%).
The report also highlighted 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 as of October 2024 against a March 2025 deadline.
Disabled drivers ‘being ignored’
Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP, chair of the Public Accounts 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. It similarly needs to understand how to remedy financial inequalities for those who have no choice but to use public charge points.”
Councillor Adam Hug, transport spokesperson for the Local Government Association, said: “Councils continue to play an important role in supporting the national transition to electric vehicles and keeping the EV charge point roll-out on track.
“As this report confirms, there is much more to be done in ensuring wider availability of the charging network and the Government’s ongoing investment into local authority capability is helpful.
“There are many factors for councils to consider on public charge points, such as demand for road space, power supply availability, demand for EVs and resources available. Sufficient and long-term Government funding is vital for councils to maintain progress on the roll-out, especially against the significant pressures on statutory council services.”
