Peers back mandating EV charging points that are safe for drivers with disabilities

House of Lords backs amendment to Planning and Infrastructure Bill

Members of the House of Lords have voted to pass an Opposition-led amendment to the Planning and Infrastructure Bill providing measures to protect drivers with disabilities from electric vehicle charging points that are inaccessible. 

The amendment was passed on 23 October during the report stage of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill in the House of Lords. It enables the government to mandate compliance with the accessibility standard PAS 1899 for public chargepoints if voluntary compliance fails.

The amendment, tabled by Lord Borwick (Con), was approved by 228 votes to 113, after the government declined to accept it during debate. 

Up to 40% of UK households do not have a driveway and therefore rely on the public charging network for EV charging. However, very few public chargepoints are accessible to people with disabilities.

Lord Borwick, a former transport entrepreneur, accessibility advocate and driver of a wheelchair-accessible taxi, said: “This is about fairness and foresight, making sure that, as we move to electric driving, no one is left behind, least of all the 1.35 million disabled drivers who already face greater challenges in their daily mobility.”

Lord Borwick set out the challenges, citing research by motoring organisations. “According to EVA England, nearly half of all drivers, with or without disabilities, have experienced problems using public chargepoints. They cite heavy cables, high kerbs, obstructed bays and payment terminals that are too high or awkwardly placed. For many disabled drivers, these are not small irritations but complete barriers to participation. 

“In July, electric vehicles made up around 25% of new sales, but in the Motability scheme, which supports drivers with disabilities, they represented 12% – less than half. Why are disabled people not choosing electric vehicles? It is because they cannot recharge them. Indeed, a full quarter of Motability drivers say that they entirely avoid public chargers because of accessibility issues. That is not a future issue but a crisis of access now.”

Borwick welcomed the introduction of a formal accessibility standard for EV chargepoints, but pointed to the poor take-up of its recommendations. Currently less than 3% of public EV charging points are considered fully accessible in the UK. 

Lord Borwick warned that without intervention, disabled people will see no end to the struggle of charging their cars safely and reliably.

“The Department for Transport took an important step in 2022 by publishing an accessibility standard, PAS 1899, designed to address these issues. However, as of today, hardly any public chargepoints meet that standard, largely because the parts and design requirements have yet to be fully adopted by industry. A revised version is being developed, with input from consumer groups and manufacturers. It is expected to offer a workable compromise between what industry can deliver and what disabled drivers need but, when it comes, it will again be entirely voluntary.

“Experience tells us what happens next. None of the major consumer protections for charge point users on transparency of pricing, reliability or contactless payment were taken up voluntarily by industry. Government ultimately had to regulate, and it took seven years from securing those powers for the regulations to take effect.”

Crossbench peer and Paralympic athlete Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson spoke in support of the measure, saying she was delighted that it had been tabled. She described how the lack of accessible chargepoints had personally prevented her from switching to an electric vehicle.

“As a disabled person, I have to say that the guidance on accessible charging is not worth very much, as it has not made an impact on my ability to move to an electric car,” she said.

“To use a charging station, I need to be able to open the door of my car to the widest possible point. My chair comes apart – the wheels come off, and the frame and the wheels sit on my front seat – and I do not want to damage any other cars while I am getting in and out. It does not take me much longer than a non-disabled person to do so, but when I tried, very hard, several times to move to an electric vehicle it proved impossible.

“The first time I tried, I was close to signing the paperwork but had a look around my local area. There was no accessible charging station within at least 30 miles of my house, which was not particularly useful. The advice from the garage was that perhaps I should just take someone with me wherever I went, and they could get in and out of the car to charge it for me.”

During the debate, the government said it did not feel able to accept the amendment in the Bill at this stage. Speaking for the government transport minister Lord Peter Hendy said: “I recognise that these provisions are fundamentally enabling powers, and I am grateful to have been able to speak to the noble Lord Borwick since he tabled his amendment.

“Although I cannot currently accept his amendment, and therefore ask him not to press it, the government will continue to consider this issue. I can assure him that all the groups that I have mentioned will continue to play a vital role in accessibility and taking forward the findings of the review. I will continue to work with him and the noble Baroness on this matter to see what we can do to speed up the process.”

However, the amendment was passed and gives government the future power to make existing accessibility standards (PAS 1899) legally binding on new public chargepoints if voluntary industry compliance continues to lag behind.

Reflecting on his amendment during his speech, Lord Borwick concluded: “This is not an onerous burden on industry, but a prudent and compassionate step to ensure a charging network that works for everyone.”

Vicky Edmonds, chief executive of the drivers’ association EVA England, welcomed the vote. “This is huge for drivers with disabilities. We need to ensure that accessible charging is not left to chance, but is thought about from the very beginning when industry and local authorities are planning, designing and rolling out chargepoints. And this amendment does that.”