The UK government and EVI
The UK Government is responsible for EVI in England, and some UK-wide functions such as regulation, grants, investment in chargepoint operators, information and VAT. Each function of government on this page is marked either England or UK. Please see the pages for Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland for devolved arrangements for EVI.
The Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV) is the UK Government's main arm for all things EV, including charging. It is part of the Department for Transport (DfT) and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ).
Contents
- Funding public chargepoints (UK-wide or England, depending on the scheme)
- Planning legislation (England)
- Funding private chargepoints (UK)
- Regulating public chargepoints (UK)
- Investing in public chargepoint operators (UK)
- Information (UK)
- Taxation (UK)
Funding public chargepoints (UK-wide or England, depending on the scheme)
One of OZEV's roles is to subsidise the installation of public chargepoints. There have been various schemes through which the government has subsidised public chargepoints, most notably the On-Street Residential Chargepoint Scheme (ORCS, UK-wide) and the Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) fund (England only). See the Funding public chargepoints page for more information.
Funding the installation of public chargepoints does not mean subsidising the energy dispensed by public chargepoints. In fact, when you pay to charge, you are funding the Treasury via VAT.
Planning legislation (England)
The rules about planning permission for EV chargers are not decided by the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles, but rather by parliament through the General Permitted Development Order.Funding private chargepoints (UK)
OZEV also offer several grants to residents, landlords and businesses wishing to install home charging units at their properties. The full list of these grants is on this page on the OZEV website, and we have more information about home charging grants here.
Note that the Scottish government also has grants for some private chargepoints.
Regulating public chargepoints (UK)
OZEV are also in charge of the Public Charge Point Regulations 2023, which ensure that chargepoint operators (CPOs) provide a good service to the public. Please see our PCPR2023 page for more information.Investments in chargepoint operators (UK)
Public money is also going towards public chargepoints via investment in chargepoint operators. This is mainly through the Charging Infrastructure Investment Fund (CIIF), managed by Zouk Capital on behalf of HM Treasury. It launched in 2019 and after the third round of funding closed in 2021, the fund held £380m, half of which was public money. The fund has invested in the following chargepoint operators:- Instavolt (since sold by Zouk Capital in 2022)
- Believ (known as Liberty Charge at the point the CPO began as a joint venture between Zouk Capital and Liberty Global in 2020)
- Char.gy (£100m commitment as of June 2024)
- Zest (£105m commitment as of January 2024.
There are other examples of public money going into chargepoint operators. The National Wealth Fund invested £55m in Connected Kerb in January 2025.
Information (UK)
OZEV's role in providing information on EV charging includes mythbusting and the provision of statistics to the industry and the public.
OZEV have got an information page on EVs in general. They also work with AutoTrader on a Facts and Figures guide looking at the main downsides of EVs. However, the Lords Climate Change Committee has previously urged the government to do more to build consumer confidence. EVinfrastructure.co.uk seeks to provide information independently of the government.
Statistics that OZEV produce include the number of EV charging devices in each local authority (from Zapmap), and the number of devices installed through OZEV grants.
Taxation (UK)
Value added tax (VAT)
The levels of VAT on public charging and home charging are ultimately down to HM Treasury. Energy secretary Ed Miliband has said, 'I think I'd be sort of vaporised by the Treasury if I said, "Oh, I agree - we've got to cut the VAT [on public charging]."'
Electric vehicle excise duty (eVED, a per-mile road tax from April 2028)
In November 2025, the Treasury announced plans to tax electric cars and plug-in hybrids based on their mileage over the year. The proposed tax is called Electric Vehicle Excise Duty (eVED) and the government is running a consultation on introducing it in 2028. The consultation closes in March 2026.
The rate will be 3p per mile for fully electric vehicles and 1.5p per mile for plug-in hybrids. Depending on a fuel car's efficiency, fuel duty comes out at about 6p per mile.
The tax will be administered by the DVLA as part of their standard VED process. Drivers will make an upfront payment at the start of the tax year based on estimated mileage, then submit actual mileage at the end for reconciliation. Most cars have their mileage checked annually as part of their MOT.
The transition from fuel vehicles to electric vehicles will mean the Treasury takes in less from fuel duty. Per-mile road tax will make up some of this shortfall.
Organisations which have backed per-mile road pricing include the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change and the Campaign for Better Transport, while others have called for taxation based on mileage and car weight.