The Electric Vehicle Charging Points (New Buildings) Bill was
introduced today under the 10-minute rule. (The bill has no
chance of proceeding because of lack of parliamentary time).
Motion for leave to bring in a Bill (Standing Order No. 23)
12:41:00
(Kensington)
(Con)
I beg to move,
That leave be given to bring in a Bill to make provision about
electric vehicle charging points in new buildings; and for
connected purposes.
The UK is one of the leaders in combating climate change and I am
rightly proud of that record. Since 1990, the UK has decarbonised
at the fastest rate of any G20 country and of course, we were the
first to legislate for net zero by 2050. Last December, we went
one step further and said that we would have an interim target of
a 68% reduction by 2030. That is rightly an ambitious target and
I am glad about that. However, if we are to achieve it, we need
to focus on our transport sector.
Transport is the biggest emitter of carbon in the entire country.
Last year, it accounted for 29.8% of total emissions. If we look
forward to 2035, that is likely to increase as a percentage
share. Cars account for 55% of those emissions. If we add in
light vans, that increases to almost two thirds. Hence we can see
how vital it is that we transition to electric vehicles.
I am glad that the Government have brought forward to 2030 the
date when we ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars. That is
a huge achievement. However, it is important that we not only set
targets but put in place concrete steps to achieve them. That is
why I am introducing this ten-minute rule Bill today. It will
mandate that all new homes and office buildings should have
electric vehicle charging points.
I am delighted that the Bill has the support of two Opposition
Members—one from the Scottish National party and one from the
Democratic Unionist party—and the support of other colleagues on
the Government Benches whom I could not list in the list of
sponsors.
The Government did undertake a consultation in 2019 on mandating
electric vehicle charging points in new buildings, but we have
not yet seen legislation as a result. However, I hope that this
Bill is very timely because we should imminently have both the
transport decarbonisation plan and the infrastructure strategy
plan. I do not want to be too forward, but it would be good to
see the Government adopting the thread of the Bill.
Let me set out why I think this is so critically important.
Constituents say that their one reservation about buying electric
vehicles is concern about the reliability of the infrastructure
and the charging network. Because of their concerns about that
reliability, they become concerned about range—so-called range
anxiety. By mandating that all new-build offices and homes have
these charging points, we will be able to address a lot of these
concerns. Residential users will know that they can charge their
cars overnight, and people, like many in my constituency, who
only have on-street parking will have confidence that they can
charge their cars at their offices. It will also, importantly,
relieve some of the pressure on on-street parking and on the
general grid of the charging network.
The Bill is very important from a safety perspective. It is
clearly better that people charge their cars at home with proper
chargers rather than some of the ad hoc charging methods that we
see at the moment, such as extension leads dangling through
windows going towards on-street parking. I am glad to say that
the Bill has the support of Electrical Safety First. It is way
cheaper to install electric charging points at the point of
construction rather than retrofitting. The latest data shows that
to retrofit an electric vehicle charging point costs £2,040 but
to install it from new costs only £976. It is also very important
for the uptake of electric vehicles in rural communities. At the
moment, inner cities, like my own City of London, do have good
uptake, but all new-builds having these charging points will
definitely help in rural communities, where 68% of journeys are
done by car.
The Bill is also important because it forces developers to buy
into net zero. That means that this is in everyone’s mind,
because whenever people are in their house or in their office and
see an electric vehicle charging point, they realise that the new
norm is electric vehicles—because we do need to make it the new
norm.
While this Bill does not seek to address all the issues with
electric vehicles, we clearly do need a comprehensive and
strategic national grid of charging points. We also need to focus
on the consumer experience in terms of interoperability. This
Bill will go a small way to encourage the uptake of electric
vehicles, which is critical to meeting our target for net zero
and making the world a better place.
Question put and agreed to.
Ordered,
That , , , , , ,
, , , , and present the Bill.
accordingly
presented the Bill.
Bill read the First time; to be read a Second time on Friday 22
October and to be printed (Bill 146).
