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Written question asked by Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat) on Thursday, 15 January 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 19 January 2026. It was answered by Samantha Dixon (Labour) on Friday, 23 January 2026 on behalf of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

Fires: Lithium-ion Batteries

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of fire and rescue services to respond to incidents involving lithium-ion batteries on strategic road networks.

Answer

The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government is working closely with Fire and Rescue Services (FRSs) and officials from other Government Departments to build an evidence base, share intelligence and develop mitigations to tackle the fire risks linked to lithium-ion batteries and personal light electric vehicles (PLEVs).

The department collects data on incidents attended by FRSs with this data including the cause of the fire and the source of ignition. This data is published in a variety of publications, available here. This does not yet include data on whether fire incidents attended were caused by or involved lithium-ion batteries.

Our new Fire and Rescue Data Analysis Platform (FaRDAP) has been rolled out, and work is ongoing to update the data it will collect covering both the questions and answer categories to capture lithium-ion batteries, and their uses in vehicles like e-scooters and PLEVs.

National Operational Guidance has been developed for fires involving alternative fuel vehicles to support fire and rescue services when attending such incidents. It contains specific hazard guidance, including control measures on how to identify and immobilise the vehicle and how to isolate high-voltage systems.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
106223
Session
2024-26
Subjects
Fires Roads Lithium-ion batteries
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk