Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 4
4
Accepted
Set out monitoring plan for Public Chargepoint Regulations, costs, and VAT impacts
Recommendation
The Department has put in place regulations to improve consumer experience, but some drivers pay significantly more than others to charge their vehicles. In 2023, the Department introduced the Public Charge point Regulations to address early consumer concerns around price transparency, payment complexity and reliability. Public charge points also need to provide a range of live data, including whether they are available to use. It is too early to say whether these regulations are working in practice, and localised issues or non–compliance may emerge. The Department’s ongoing consumer research may also find new concerns that could require intervention. Drivers who have no option but to rely on public charge points pay significantly more to charge their vehicles, in part due to higher value added tax being charged, typically 20% compared to 5% VAT, which particularly affects those without access to off–street parking. While the Department monitors the costs of different charging behaviours and has made efforts to widen access to cheaper private home charging, it was unable to describe how these differing costs fall on different groups in society. Should these differential impacts not be understood and remedied, different and sometimes disadvantaged groups will face inequalities in the cost of driving. recommendation As part of its Treasury Minute Response, the Department should set out: a. How it will monitor the impact of the Public Charge point Regulations, including at the local level. b. How it will monitor the cost of public charge point use by different groups in society. c. How the issue of VAT on public charging points will be considered by HMT and the Department.
Government Response Summary
The government stated it will monitor the Public Charge Point Regulations through OPSS reporting, a Technology Tracker, open data, and stakeholder engagement, with a review within five years. It already monitors charging costs across channels and will continue to work with HM Treasury to understand VAT variance.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. act as the regulator for the Public Charge Point Regulations 2023 (PCPR). The department will monitor compliance through reporting from OPSS. In addition, the impact of the PCPR will be assessed through the department’s Technology Tracker, monitoring of open data from chargepoints, and engagement with industry and consumer groups. The PCPR will be reviewed within five years of coming into force, as per section 13 of the Regulations, and the department will publish the outcomes of this review. The department already monitors the cost of charging across a range of charging channels, including domestic chargepoints, and fast, rapid and ultra-rapid public charging. This is undertaken on an ongoing basis using publicly available information on electricity tariffs and data purchased from Cornwall Insight on the cost of electric vehicle charging. The government will continue to work with HM Treasury to understand the variance in costs associated with public and domestic charging and the extent to which any change in policy might impact the price of public charging, as well as consumer demand for EVs.