Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the statement by the Secretary of State for Transport on 24 October 2016, whether they plan to limit charges for the use of electric charging points; and if so, how they intend to do so.

Our view is that pricing is ultimately a commercial decision for network operators or host sites. However, we do not want prohibitive pricing to be a barrier to the take up of electric vehicles, and we will continue to monitor developments closely.

The Government has announced its intention to make new regulations to require clear and consistent pricing information at electric vehicle chargepoints, which could make public charging easier for electric vehicle drivers, and encourage a more competitive and consumer-friendly market. We have identified existing powers which should allow much quicker action to be taken. We will bring forward new regulation in 2017, consulting further as necessary to improve consistency of pricing information.