Select committee: Public Accounts Committee
Conclusion 19
14th Report - Public charge points for electric vehicles
Published 12 Mar 2025
Addressed to HM Treasury
Public Accounts Committee Public charge points for electric vehicles All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
As with motorway service areas, many of these locations are limited by the strength of the local electricity network and the ability to enhance and connect to it. The Government recognises that the processes to receive electricity grid connections are increasingly unfit for purpose and take too long, and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and Ofgem have put in place a Connections Action Plan to seek to remedy this. However, the connections queue is still growing, with competing demands from other activity such as housing developments and new housing and internet cloud storage, which may not all be satisfied if grid connections do not accelerate. 34 When asked how the Department is working with grid operators to enable charge point installation specifically, the Department explained that there remain challenges with inconsistent process between network operators, and with people being aware of the standing charges they would pay when they request an enhanced connection. The Department stated that it did a piece of work with charge point companies and the Energy Networks Association on the specific grid connection challenges they face, to get them to work together more efficiently and smooth out processes. 35 31 Qq71–72; C&AG’s Report para 13 32 C&AG’s Report para 8 33 Q 84 34 Qq 81, 98; C&AG’s Report 14 35 Q 81 14
From: Public Accounts Committee, 14th Report - Public charge points for electric vehicles (HC 512), 12 March 2025
Government response
Latest Treasury Minutes progress report to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Fourteenth Report of Session 2024-26
The government responded to the whole report on 4 June 2026.
Treasury minutes: Government response to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Fourteenth report from Session 2024-25
Published 16 May 2025.
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government states that it "agrees with the Committee's recommendation" on each of the six conclusions, with commitments to write to the Committee in September 2025 and to confirm other next steps "in due course".
- On local variation in charge point need, it will "look to take a similar needs-based approach to any interventions required in future" and will pay close attention to outcomes from early LEVI Fund procurements.
- On LEVI and on ultra-rapid charge points at motorway service areas, the department will write to the Committee within six months (target date September 2025) with updates on progress.
- On accessibility, it is reviewing the PAS 1899:2022 standard, and recommendations and proposed next steps "will be confirmed in due course". Target implementation date: December 2025.
- On VAT and charging costs, it will "continue to work with HM Treasury to understand the variance in costs" between public and domestic charging and the extent to which any policy change might affect public charging prices.