Stormont to rewrite electric car rules for MLAs: Politicians may have to pay after 'double charging' controversy
Stormont is to rewrite its electric car charging rules for MLAs in the wake of this week’s “double charging” controversy – potentially forcing politicians to pay up.
This evening a spokeswoman for the Northern Ireland Assembly said officials have been ordered to bring suggestions for new proposals for the use of charging points to a meeting of senior figures this month.
That will include, she said, options to make MLAs pay to use electric vehicle (EV) charging points around Stormont’s car parks.
Over the past few days Stormont has been rocked by accusations that politicians may have been points to charge their cars for free, while also taking travel allowances from the public purse to cover trips from their constituencies to Parliament Buildings.
The spokeswoman this evening said: “The Speaker, with the support of all members of the Assembly Commission, has tasked officials to bring forward proposals to the Assembly Commission’s next meeting, later this month.
“Those proposals will include options on the introduction of usage fees for the six EV charging points at Parliament Buildings and ensuring that all EV charging points within the responsibility of the Assembly Commission are managed on a consistent basis going forward.”
There are six EV charging points in the upper car park of Parliament Buildings and two more in its lower east car park, she stated.
The charging points were brought in at a time when “EV technology was still emerging and charging facilities were not widely available”, the spokeswoman said, adding: “This type of provision was typically offered free-of-charge through many public sector bodies and incentive schemes to promote the uptake of electric vehicles and support the transition towards cleaner, more sustainable transport.
“This approach is changing as the use of EVs is now much more frequent and more charging points have a cost for use.”
All of the charging points, from the first installed in 2015 to subsequent additions, and the management of them were “operational decisions that did not require approval by members of the Assembly Commission” the spokeswoman said.
She added: “The Assembly Commission will receive advice to agree an appropriate system, ensuring that the arrangements for EV charging at both the upper and lower car parks at Parliament Buildings follow that wider trend.”