Streamlined permitting rules for EV chargepoint installations

The government has unveiled a new streamlined process for permitting electric vehicle (EV) chargepoints as it has come under renewed pressure to equalise the ‘discrepancy’ between the VAT rates for domestic and public charging.

As part of a package of support for EVs issued yesterday (Monday 5 February), the Department for Transport (DfT) has published proposals to give chargepoint operators the right to carry out street works using a permit instead of a licence, as currently happens.

Under the proposed shake-up, changepoints would be included in the same streetworks permit regime that governs utility companies.

According to a consultation paper issued by the DfT, outlining the proposals, most EV chargepoint operators do not enjoy this statutory right to carry out streetworks.

This means that to install a chargepoint they must obtain a licence from the relevant highway authority, which can take 12 weeks or longer as opposed to days for a permit and is much more expensive.

As part of the same announcement, the DfT also announced a new grant scheme for state schools, colleges and nurseries to install workplace charge points.

And the government has released the first allocations from the £381 million Local Electric Vehicles Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund. Five councils, including two London boroughs, will receive £14.2 million to support EV chargepoint installations from the fund.

The government’s latest announcement on chargepoints was issued ahead of the publication of a new report on EVs by the House of Lords Environment and Climate Change Committee.

The report on EVs, published today (Tuesday 6 February), calls on the government to end the discrepancy between VAT rates for domestic and public charging.

Cutting the rate of public charging from the current level of 20% to the 5% enjoyed by domestic customers would end the current “unfair” scenario for the approximately 40% of households who lack off-street parking at home, the committee says.

This equalisation could reduce the prices for on-street slow-to-fast chargepoints significantly below those for petrol and diesel, while rapid and ultra-rapid chargers would be roughly the same, according to the committee’s analysis.

The committee also urges the government to “turbo-charge” the charging infrastructure rollout by urgently reviewing “outdated and disproportionate” planning regulations, which it describes as a major block to the rollout.

It says the government must remedy the highly variable distribution of EV charging across the country with new powers to force local authorities to prepare EV strategies in areas where there are fewer than 50 public chargepoints per 100,000 people.

In addition, the LEVI fund should be extended beyond its current cut-off date of 2025 by a further three years.

The committee also calls on the government to signal its commitment to electrification of motoring by ensuring that all official ministerial vehicles are electric by the end of this year.

And the government should consult on offering a right to charge for tenants and leaseholders in multi-occupancy buildings to address the reluctance of landlords to instal chargepoints.

Baroness Parminter, chair of the inquiry, said: “Surface transport is the UK’s highest emitting sector for CO2, with passenger cars responsible for over half those emissions. The evidence we received shows the Government must do more – and quickly – to get people to adopt EVs. If it fails to heed our recommendations the UK won’t reap the significant benefits of better air quality and will lag in the slow lane for tackling climate change.”