Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions his Department has had with representatives of charging point operators on the potential merits of introducing a universal app for payment at electric car charging points.

We are committed to ensuring that consumers have a seamless experience when using the public EV charging network. We have regular engagement with chargepoint operators, other industry representatives and consumer groups to inform our approach. In Spring 2021, we consulted on measures to improve the consumer experience of public charging. The consultation focused on four key areas: making it easier to pay at a public chargepoint including streamlining use of apps for consumers; mandating a single payment metric to improve price transparency; improving the public network’s reliability; and opening public EV chargepoint data to enable consumers to locate chargepoints. Alongside this, my Department had a series of related engagement events with chargepoint operators, and representatives of other industry members and of consumer groups. These included discussions on the potential role of apps for payment. We are intending to publish the government response to the consultation in the autumn and to lay legislation as soon as parliamentary time allows.