The UK Government has backed new powers to ensure future chargepoints are compliant with accessibility standards.
The news comes as the final stage of Planning and Infrastructure Bill has begun, with an amendment to the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, giving powers to mandate key accessibility measures at public electric vehicle (EV) charging points.
This will ensure they are user friendly and safe to use including by drivers with disabilities and follows the government’s report recommending revisions to the existing UK standard to make it easier to deliver accessible charging that meets driver’s needs.
The amendment – originally tabled by Conservative Peer Lord Borwick and now expanded upon by Government – gives ministers the power to mandate accessibility standards across all new public electric vehicle (EV) charging points, should voluntary progress by the industry remain too slow.
The Government said it had been “working closely with the sector to update the current accessibility standards” and had “been convinced that we should use the Bill to provide further certainty”.
Speaking on behalf of the Opposition, Conservative MP David Simmonds thanked the Government for its “willingness to embrace the debate about electric vehicle charging”.
The move coincides with the publication today of the Government’s report recommending revisions to the existing PAS 1899 framework, which sets out detailed accessibility requirements for public EV chargepoints – including minimum parking bay sizes suitable for wheelchair users, placement of bollards, and the positioning and orientation of payment terminals.
PAS 1899 was first published in 2022 as a voluntary standard, but it is estimated only 3 charging sites in the whole of the UK currently fully comply with the standard. A recent survey by EVA England revealed 47% of all drivers, with and without disabilities, reported accessibility issues using current infrastructure.
The amendment to the Planning and Infrastructure Bill gives powers to mandate compliance with PAS 1899 in future, if accessibility concerns persist; place requirements on all parties involved in the installation of charging points; and require installers to report accessibility-related data, enabling Government to monitor and publish accurate figures on compliance, should it feel the need to.
Vicky Edmonds, CEO of EVA England, said:
“This is huge progress for all drivers, especially those with disabilities. For the first time, we have the Government’s assurance that accessibility won’t be left to chance. These enabling powers will also incentivise greater action by industry to roll out accessible charging.
I would like to thank Lord Borwick and Sir Jeremy Wright for championing this cause and ensuring its inclusion in the Bill, and to thank the Government for expanding upon Lord Borwick’s amendment to provide essential future safeguards for the safety, reliability and user-friendliness of public EV charging.
EVA England has long supported this ambition, and we’re proud to see such decisive action taken to ensure the public charging network works for everyone.”
Lord Borwick, who originally tabled the amendment, said:
“People have congratulated me on this change in the law, but that is not right. It’s a change in charging systems to make them accessible, not a change in the law, that deserves congratulation.
This amendment means we can finally ensure that as we move to electric driving, accessibility will not be an afterthought but a core design requirement of the public network.”
Lisa Jones, Chief Operating Officer of the Motability Foundation, said:
“It has been the Motability Foundation’s position for some time that the PAS 1899 standard should made mandatory by law, so we’re very pleased to see this amendment has been passed. We estimate that 1.35 million disabled drivers in the UK will need to use public EV chargers by 2035, so it’s absolutely vital that chargepoints are being made accessible.
We are now working with Government on plans for an updated version of PAS 1899. We want to provide a standard that is achievable and can be used by all chargepoint operators to meet the accessibility needs of disabled people. We will continue to engage with all providers of public charging as part of this process. This will also ensure the standard is in a position to be mandated by law if that step is required.”
