The Government has committed to a new £100m fund to lower the cost of local public EV chargers, alongside launching an independent taskforce to investigate ‘tariff porting’ for drivers without driveways.

Published alongside the Autumn Budget, the measures form the core of the Government’s response to its cost of public electric vehicle charging review, which was headed by Philip New and commissioned jointly by the Department for Transport (DfT), the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, and HM Treasury.

Tasked with evaluating public EV charging infrastructures and pricing dynamics, the review’s final recommendations open up much-needed funding to accelerate grid connections and tackle the ‘driveway divide’ penalising drivers without off-street parking.

Actions include immediate steps to establish a taskforce to explore allowing drivers to use their domestic electricity tariff at local, lower-powered public charge points.

As this is a “complex proposal that will take time to consider”, the Government has also pledged £100m over the next two years to reduce costs for local, lower-powered public chargers. Coming into effect from spring 2027, this is expected to save around £150 per year for the average EV driver without home charging and who charges on-street. The DfT will “set out next steps in due course”.

Announced alongside the Budget confirmation of the continuation of the VAT reduction on domestic electricity until July 2027 and funding to create more grid connections, the review aims to address the major cost disparities facing electric vehicle drivers without access to home charging.

However, the Budget ‘red book’ also announces a controversial move to introduce legislation in Finance Bill 2026/27 that will clarify that electricity supplied through publicly accessible and workplace electric vehicle charging points is subject to 20% VAT and is not considered domestic use for the Climate Change Levy.

The legislation will take effect from 1 November 2026, addressing the Tax Tribunal ruling earlier this year that EV charging counts as domestic electricity use and should therefore be subject to the same VAT rate, thereby shutting down the route to addressing the ‘driveway divide’ VAT inequality between public and home charging.

Responding to the package of announcements, Shane Brennan, chief executive of charging infrastructure lobby group ChargeUK, slammed the Government’s refusal to reduce VAT on public charging, warning that it would do “serious damage” to the EV transition.

“Instead of listening to the call of EV drivers for fairness on VAT, the Government has slammed the door shut on ending a rank unfairness between at home and out of home charging. An unfairness that even the courts ruled to be illegal earlier this year.”

He also warned that the public charging review recommendations “do not meet the moment” and labelled them as “too little, too complex and too slow to make a meaningful difference”.

“The industry asked for simple measures to address the foundational cost issues for public charging – VAT, soaring operator standing charges and renewable fuel credits. The review recommends action on the latter point but overall amounts to warm words and an open-ended taskforce, not meaningful action.

“Taken alongside extended fuel duty cuts and the potential weakening of EV targets, it paints a picture of a government which is unserious about helping millions of drivers save by switching to electric.

“Hard work will now be required to rebuild trust and confidence across the EV charging sector. We will work urgently to understand how government intends to keep the zero-emission transport transition on track.”

Taking a different view, EVA England said it “strongly welcomed and supported” the recommendations of the public charging review to deliver a way for drivers who don’t have access to private charging to access their domestic energy tariffs from the public charging network.

Vicky Edmonds, CEO of the EV campaign group, commented: “This will be absolutely necessary if we are to open up electric cars as an option for all driving households.

“Of course, such complex structural change takes time, so we also welcome the £100m financial support for some households to access cheaper public charging. Equalisation of VAT between domestic and public charging would have been another, welcome interim measure.”