Labour ministers have quietly scrapped a flagship £950 million electric vehicle (EV) charging fund first announced by the Conservatives, redirecting a smaller sum of £400 million toward on-street charge points, primarily in lower-income and underserved areas.
The move marks a significant shift in the UK’s EV rollout strategy, prioritising urban, residential charging access over the motorway-focused approach envisioned under the original Rapid Charging Fund (RCF). Introduced in 2020 by then chancellor Rishi Sunak, the RCF was intended to support grid upgrades to enable more rapid chargers at motorway service areas.
However, the Department for Transport said the RCF was never formally included in budgeted spending plans and had stalled amid concerns about design flaws and the risk of disproportionately benefiting certain motorway service companies.
Instead, the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, announced a revised £400 million commitment over five years in the recent spending review, following an earlier £200 million pledge in the autumn budget. The majority of the new funding is expected to support on-street charging infrastructure, particularly in areas where private sector investment has lagged due to lower perceived profitability.
“The rapid charging fund was designed to support the rollout of charging infrastructure on motorways and major A roads – but the previous government did not set out detailed plans to deliver this,” a Department for Transport spokesperson said: “Since the fund was announced in 2020, the market has changed significantly.”
According to Zap Map, the number of open-access rapid and ultra-rapid chargers near major roads has almost quadrupled in the past three years, with more than 80,000 public chargers now installed across the UK – a 29% increase year-on-year.
Yet the move has divided industry voices. John Lewis, CEO of on-street charging provider char.gy, welcomed the government’s focus on urban infrastructure, calling the £400 million allocation a “positive step.” But he also questioned why the full £950 million wasn’t preserved and repurposed to support consumer incentives or broader EV initiatives.
“Couldn’t the full amount have been directed towards the EV effort – whether through the continued rollout of on-street charging or other consumer incentives – to give people greater confidence to make the switch to electric?” Lewis asked.
Ian Johnston, chief executive of Osprey Charging, echoed the need for smarter funding deployment, suggesting that new resources be targeted at sites with high grid connection costs, such as underserved A-road regions, rather than being handed out evenly to all motorway services.
He also called for regulatory changes to road signage permissions, which would allow charge points to be more clearly advertised to drivers, reducing uncertainty for EV users.
Quentin Willson, founder of the advocacy group FairCharge and a former Top Gear presenter, said the decision not to repurpose the full £950 million undermines public confidence in the government’s commitment to EV adoption.
“Withholding unused RCF funds and not diverting them towards other EV charging initiatives isn’t a great look for government,” he said. “It opens them to the obvious questions about their commitment to the EV transition.”
Willson also renewed calls for the government to cut VAT on public charging to align it with the lower 5% rate available on home electricity, making public charging more affordable for drivers without access to off-street parking.
Despite the criticism, the government insists the updated plan reflects changing market realities and the need to prioritise equity in EV infrastructure. Ministers argue that on-street charging is now a more urgent gap in the network, especially in urban areas where many households lack driveways or private garages.
With Net Zero targets looming and uptake of electric vehicles still lagging behind in certain regions, the pressure remains on the government to balance infrastructure rollout with accessibility and affordability – even if that means revisiting some of the boldest pledges made under previous administrations.
