Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps she is taking to help raise public awareness of the safe purchasing of lithium battery products.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
My Department is working with the Home Office, London Fire Brigade and the National Fire Chiefs Council, to raise awareness on this issue. Through the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS), we have been promoting Home Office guidance on safe battery charging practices in the home and we share safety messages via social media. OPSS also recently published a safety notice giving specific advice to consumers. I recently also wrote to major food delivery apps including Uber Eats and Deliveroo, urging them to share important government safety advice on e-bikes and lithium-ion batteries.
Existing legislation requires manufactures to provide relevant safety information with their products. OPSS is also seeking assurances from Online Marketplaces on how they ensure consumers have access to instructions on safe use.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many (a) e-bikes and (b) e-scooters were purchased in the UK between 2023 and 2020; and whether she has made an estimate of projected sales in 2024.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
We do not monitor or hold records on the sale of e-bikes and e-scooters. However, UK product safety laws require all consumer products to be safe and products using lithium-ion batteries, such as e-bikes and e-scooters, 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 Warwickshire 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.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether her Department has taken steps to monitor the general (a) use and (b) safety of new lithium battery products.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
We do not monitor or hold records on the sale of e-bikes and e-scooters. However, UK product safety laws require all consumer products to be safe and products using lithium-ion batteries, such as e-bikes and e-scooters, 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 Warwickshire 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.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to develop guidance for the public on (a) the potential risks of and (b) how to safely purchase conversion kits for (i) e-bikes and (ii) e-scooters.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
My Department is developing safety guidance for users of e-cycles and e-scooters and will publish this in due course. This will include information on conversion kits, and will complement the guidance already published by the Home Office on the Fire England website: www.fireengland.uk/fire-safety/charging-your-e-bike-or-e-scooter
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential risks to safety of trends in the level of fires caused by conversion kits for e-bikes.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Home Office publishes guidance on this issue on the Fire England website.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many deaths from allergies there have been in each year since 2000, by type of allergy.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 28 November is attached.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many hospital admissions due to anaphylaxis there have been in each year since 2000.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Data on admissions due to anaphylaxis is not available prior to 2011. The following table shows the number of admissions due to anaphylaxis between 2011/12 and 2022/23:
Year | Anaphylactic shock due to adverse food reaction | Anaphylactic shock, unspecified | Anaphylactic shock due to serum | Anaphylactic shock due to adverse effect of correct drug or medicament properly administered |
2022/23 | 1482 | 1589 | 20 | 579 |
2021/22 | 1903 | 2364 | 27 | 617 |
2020/21 | 1906 | 2406 | 37 | 565 |
2019/20 | 2134 | 2708 | 11 | 664 |
2018/19 | 2287 | 2670 | 18 | 532 |
2017/18 | 1855 | 2345 | 11 | 625 |
2016/17 | 1768 | 2324 | 16 | 679 |
2015/16 | 1711 | 2116 | 9 | 646 |
2014/15 | 1594 | 1958 | 19 | 634 |
2013/14 | 1505 | 1992 | 7 | 608 |
2012/13 | 1381 | 1764 | 12 | 590 |
2011/12 | 1258 | 1871 | 7 | 599 |
Source: NHS England
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will make public representations to his Saudi counterpart on revoking death sentences passed on minors.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Saudi Arabia is well aware of the UK's opposition to the death penalty in all countries and in all circumstances, as a matter of principle. We regularly raise concerns about its use and Saudi Arabia is an FCDO Human Rights Priority Country, in part because of the continued use of the death penalty. The Minister for the Middle East and Human Rights, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon regularly discusses a wide range of human rights issues with the Saudi authorities, most recently during the President of the Saudi Human Rights Commission's visit to the UK in September 2023. We monitor and raise all known juvenile death penalty defendant cases with the Saudi authorities, and discuss outstanding questions regarding the application of the Royal Decree of 2020. We will continue to do so.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what discussions he has had with this Saudi counterpart about adoption of a moratorium on the death penalty.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Saudi Arabia is well aware of the UK's opposition to the death penalty in all countries and in all circumstances, as a matter of principle. We regularly raise concerns about its use and Saudi Arabia is an FCDO Human Rights Priority Country, in part because of the continued use of the death penalty. The Minister for the Middle East and Human Rights, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon regularly discusses a wide range of human rights issues with the Saudi authorities, most recently during the President of the Saudi Human Rights Commission's visit to the UK in September 2023. We monitor and raise all known juvenile death penalty defendant cases with the Saudi authorities, and discuss outstanding questions regarding the application of the Royal Decree of 2020. We will continue to do so.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what discussions he has had with his Saudi counterpart on the application of a Royal Decree of 2020 on the passing of death sentences on minors.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Saudi Arabia is well aware of the UK's opposition to the death penalty in all countries and in all circumstances, as a matter of principle. We regularly raise concerns about its use and Saudi Arabia is an FCDO Human Rights Priority Country, in part because of the continued use of the death penalty. The Minister for the Middle East and Human Rights, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon regularly discusses a wide range of human rights issues with the Saudi authorities, most recently during the President of the Saudi Human Rights Commission's visit to the UK in September 2023. We monitor and raise all known juvenile death penalty defendant cases with the Saudi authorities, and discuss outstanding questions regarding the application of the Royal Decree of 2020. We will continue to do so.