Select committee: Public Accounts Committee
Conclusion 25
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)
The Department expects that most people will charge their vehicles at home using private charge points, however, those reliant solely on public charging, such as those without access to off–street parking, pay significantly more to charge their vehicles. This is because the cost of public charging reflects aspects such as the wholesale price of electricity, charge point operator margins, and the difference between the value added tax charged on electricity from private (5%) and public charge points (20%). This means drivers using public charge points can pay around two to three times more to charge their vehicle than someone charging at home, depending on the type of charge point used.45
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.