Last week on the 25th October Jack Loughran published a document on the Institution of Engineering of Technology which is entitled in “MPs agree new rules to ease EV charging” that can be obtained from here. I have included some other details from Parliament on the following day that focus on EV charging. The initial words from Jack are

MPs have agreed on new regulations that will ensure transparent pricing across electric vehicle (EV) chargepoints, as well as ensuring contactless payment options are available. While it’s always cheapest to charge at home, prices can vary between public chargepoints. Those using rapid and ultra-rapid chargers are even at risk of paying more than their fossil fuel counterparts.

A few words later he wrote about a contribution from Jesse Norman who is a Minister of State in the Department for Transport who is the Conservative MP for Hereford and South Herefordshire. His boss in the department is Mark Harper who is the MP for Forest of Dean and as it happens one of the other MPs from the department is Huw Merriman who is the Sussex MP in Bexhill and Battle who I am very aware of. The comment from Jesse in the IET event is below

Decarbonisation minister Jesse Norman said: “Over time, these new regulations will improve EV charging for millions of drivers, helping them find the chargepoints they want, providing price transparency so that they can compare the cost of different charging options and updating payment methods. “They will make the switch to electric easier than ever for drivers, support the economy and help the UK reach its 2035 goals.”

Following on from the session on IET on Thursday 26th October at the last day of Parliament for a break there was a session Support for Motorists and one of the MPs who spoke was Bill Esterson who is the Labour MP for Sefton Central which includes Crosby where I was born and raised till I moved to Brighton. He asked

Pothole repairs halved since 2016; insurance premiums up; fuel prices up; electric charge point roll-out 10 years behind schedule; £950 million EV charge point fund still not open three years after being announced; 10% trade tariffs threatening consumers and manufacturers—which of those is not an example of where this Government have failed drivers over the last 13 years?

Mark Harper responded with this text

The hon. Gentleman had a number of things that he purported to suggest were facts. Let me just pick one of them: the roll-out of EV charging. That is absolutely on track according to the independent assessment from the National Infrastructure Commission. The number of public charge points is up 43%. As the Minister of State, my right hon. Friend Jesse Norman set out, we have published and laid before the House the legislation to implement our zero-emission vehicle mandate, which gives the industry the confidence to invest in and roll out those charge points, to drive the roll-out of electric vehicles. We are absolutely on track to do that, and I am surprised that the hon. Gentleman does not welcome it.

On the same day there was a session Decarbonising Road Transport and it was opened by the SNP MP Stuart McDonald who began with the comment “What assessment he has made of the adequacy of progress on decarbonising road transport.” and after his responses from Jesse Norman the next person to comment was Gavin Newlands who is a SNP MP who stated

I am still astonished at the Secretary of State’s claims that the English EV charging  network is on track—absolutely no one thinks that in this country. Pushing back the date for the ban on petrol and diesel cars by five years, combined with removing what was already one of Europe’s worst EV purchase incentive schemes, means that this Government are sending all the wrong signals to consumers. Mike Hawes of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said that consumers required

“a clear, consistent message, attractive incentives and charging infrastructure that gives confidence rather than anxiety. Confusion and uncertainty will only hold them back.”

I have no doubt that this decision was thoroughly assessed, so can the Minister tell us how many extra millions of tonnes of carbon will be emitted due to this Government’s back-pedalling on net zero?

The comment from Jesse Norman was

Was it P. G. Wodehouse who said that it was not difficult to see the difference between a ray of sunshine and a Scotsman with a grievance? How true that is in this case! The truth of the matter is that there has been enormous progress in this area. Let me remind the hon. Gentleman that £6 billion of new private investment is being planned by ChargeUK. That has not been affected. One of the leading global mandates has been laid. We have just done this excellent work on charge points, and I am pleased to say that the independent National Infrastructure Commission of this country has stated that if the roll-out continues to grow at the current rate, we will meet our target of 300,000 public chargers by 2030.