Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 3
3
Accepted
Set out steps to address ultra-rapid charge point gaps on strategic road network
Conclusion
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.
Government Response Summary
The government committed to writing to the Committee by September 2025 with an update on ultra-rapid charge point rollout on the SRN and at motorway service areas, including work to understand why gaps exist and outlining next steps to address them.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Strategic Road Network (SRN) that can charge vehicles quickly has grown substantially and is ahead of expectations. As of January 2025, there are more than 5,250 rapid and ultra-rapid chargepoints within one mile of the SRN, including more than 1,100 at motorway service areas. This means that the number of chargepoints on both measures has doubled over the last 18 months. However, there is more to do to improve the distribution of chargepoints on the SRN. There are some motorway service areas without a minimum baseline provision as well as gaps in chargepoint provision on some stretches of major A roads. There are also many charging sites that will require large power capacity upgrades to meet future demand, some of which may not be commercially viable in the near term. The government will write to the Committee in September 2025 to provide an update on the rollout of ultra-rapid chargepoints at motorway service areas and across the wider SRN. This update will include work that has been undertaken to understand why gaps in provision exist and outline next steps to address these gaps.