Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has made an assessment of the impact on the consumer experience of vehicle charging of mandating that public charge point networks must roam (a) with one other provider or (b) with all other providers.

The Government has considered a number of options to introduce roaming to the public charging network. Mandating that chargepoint operators must connect to at least one external roaming provider offers the most flexibility to industry and room for innovation. The Government will be laying legislation in Parliament to mandate roaming soon, with enforcement coming into effect 24 months after the legislation comes into force.

If the Government does not see sufficient progress within that timeframe, it may consider designating approved providers. However, the intention is that the market will converge on a handful of roaming providers or apps that offer the best experience for consumers and fleet drivers.