PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Batteries: Lithium (9 November 2023)

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent assessment she has made with Cabinet colleagues of the implications for her policies of research on the fire risk associated with lithium-ion batteries.

Asked by:
Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat)

UK product safety laws require all consumer products to be safe. Products using lithium-ion batteries must comply with essential safety requirements set out in law.

The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS), part of the Department for Business and Trade, has established a multi-disciplinary safety study to understand data and evidence of risks in this area and has commissioned Warwick Manufacturing Group, to conduct research examining the safety of lithium-ion batteries. This forms part of cross Government work involving the Home Office and the Department for Transport alongside London Fire Brigade and the National Fire Chiefs Council.

Answered by:
Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative)
15 November 2023