Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 9
9
Accepted
Current charge point per head metric fails to reflect regional variations effectively
Conclusion
The Department’s current measure of the number of ‘charge points per head’ in each region does not reflect the variations within regions, or what is required in the future.12 We challenged the Department as to what it would do if the distribution of charge points did not improve ahead of the 2030 target. The Department responded that whilst these would be matters for a future spending review, it does regularly monitor the situation to ensure they have an overview of the situation and can see if issues of concern emerge.13 The Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) programme
Government Response Summary
The government agrees and states the recommendation is implemented, explaining that it already produces quarterly statistics broken down by local authority and per capita, which enables monitoring of sub-regional variability. It confirms that sub-regional need was a guiding principle for LEVI funding allocation and commits to taking a similar needs-based approach for future interventions.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
1.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation implemented: April 2025 1.2 The department currently produces quarterly statistics on electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure which breaks down chargepoint provision by local authority. As part of these releases, statistics on the number of charging devices per 100,000 population are produced which shows the relative provision of local authorities, accounting for the number of residents. This data allows ongoing monitoring and assessment of sub-regional variability. 1.3 Sub-regional need was a guiding principle when allocating Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) funding. Four variables were used to assess need and allocate funding to local authorities. The number of public charging devices per 100,000 was included in the allocation model to capture existing levels of charging infrastructure across the country. The estimated number of vehicles without off-street parking was included to reflect the increased need for public charging in areas with a heavier reliance on the public charging network. The relative level of deprivation across England and the level of rurality were also included in the funding allocation calculation. These variables were included as areas with more rural households and greater levels of deprivation are less likely to present a positive commercial case for private sector provision. 1.4 The government will look to take a similar needs-based approach to any interventions required in future. The government will also pay close attention to outcomes from early LEVI Fund procurements and their impact on sub-regional variability and use these in the design of future interventions.