13
Conclusion
14th Report - Public charge points for …
Deferred
Public ultra–rapid charge points across along motorways and major A–roads (collectively known as the strategic road network) are necessary to address “range anxiety” amongst motorists. Motorway service areas in particular act like the “shop window” for providing confidence to drivers that charge points are widespread.23
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Public ultra–rapid charge points across along motorways and major A–roads (collectively known as the strategic road network) are necessary to address “range anxiety” amongst motorists. Motorway service areas in particular act like the “shop window” for providing confidence to drivers that charge points are widespread.23
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees with the observation regarding the necessity of ultra-rapid charge points on the strategic road network. They will provide an update in September 2025 on rollout progress, gaps, and next steps to address these.
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HM Treasury
14
Conclusion
14th Report - Public charge points for …
Deferred
The Department had an ambition that operators would install six ultra rapid charge points at every motorway service area by the end of 2023. However, only around half installed that many charge points by that time, and by January 2025 only 80 out of 114 met this target. The Department …
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The Department had an ambition that operators would install six ultra rapid charge points at every motorway service area by the end of 2023. However, only around half installed that many charge points by that time, and by January 2025 only 80 out of 114 met this target. The Department acknowledged that there was probably a degree of naivete about how 18 Q 51 19 Q 5; C&AG’s Report para 10 20 Q44–45, C&AG’s Report para 10 21 Qq 9, 45 22 Qq 51–52 23 Q 61 12 long it would take when setting its ambition of six by 2023, particularly in how difficult it would be to secure electricity grid connections in locations that are tough to get enough power to at a cost that is not prohibitive.24 It anticipated that 100 would meet this target by summer, with all but four having at least six ultra–rapid charge points by the end of 2026.25
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees with the observation regarding the slow rollout of ultra-rapid charge points and acknowledges the challenges. They will provide an update to the Committee in September 2025, outlining work to understand provision gaps and next steps to address them.
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HM Treasury
15
Conclusion
14th Report - Public charge points for …
Deferred
The Department stated that there was not necessarily a very scientific underpinning for using six ultra–rapid charge points as its benchmark today, however, meeting charge point demand in the longer term might require much more than this, and in July 2024 only around 10% of motorway service areas in England …
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The Department stated that there was not necessarily a very scientific underpinning for using six ultra–rapid charge points as its benchmark today, however, meeting charge point demand in the longer term might require much more than this, and in July 2024 only around 10% of motorway service areas in England had the power capacity needed to meet demand to at least 2035.26
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees with the observation regarding the benchmark for charge points and power capacity. They will provide an update to the Committee in September 2025 on the rollout of ultra-rapid chargepoints, including understanding provision gaps and outlining next steps.
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HM Treasury
16
Conclusion
14th Report - Public charge points for …
Deferred
The number of ultra rapid charge points installed within one mile of the wider strategic road network has exceeded the Department’s expectations, with 2,377 installed by July 2024, against a target of 2,500 by 2030.27 However, distribution remains a problem; for example, there are stretches of major A–roads in the …
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The number of ultra rapid charge points installed within one mile of the wider strategic road network has exceeded the Department’s expectations, with 2,377 installed by July 2024, against a target of 2,500 by 2030.27 However, distribution remains a problem; for example, there are stretches of major A–roads in the South West, West and the North where there are not enough of these charge points. The Department stated that on major A–roads, where there is a some flexibility in where operators may choose to install charge points, it sees these gaps reducing each quarter. While it anticipates that the commercial attractiveness of these locations will mean the private sector addresses these gaps, if concerns around particular areas emerged, it would look at these.28 We expect that this will prove particularly true for more remote A roads.
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees with the committee's observation and commits to providing an update in September 2025 on the rollout of ultra-rapid chargepoints, including work undertaken to understand existing distribution gaps and outlining next steps to address them.
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HM Treasury