Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what are the permitted means and locations for the disposal of lithium-ion batteries after they have expired in motor vehicles.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles are classified as “waste industrial batteries” once they can no longer be used in a vehicle. Sometimes they are repurposed for something else, for example, energy storage. Otherwise, they must be sent to an appropriate battery recycling facility — they cannot be disposed of, for example, incinerated or landfilled.
The battery recycling centres in England must be approved and have the right environmental permits from the Environment Agency. You can find a list of these approved facilities online in the Environment Agency’s Public Register Public Registers Online.
Some batteries may be sent to another country for recycling. If so, they must go through an approved exporter. These exporters are also listed in the same Public Register.
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Greater Manchester Combined Authority to ensure that its legal obligations to reduce nitrogen dioxide are met.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Officials from the Defra/Department for Transport Joint Air Quality Unit have been in regular contact and discussion with those in Greater Manchester Combined Authority, through Transport for Greater Manchester, throughout their development. We are currently considering the Greater Manchester proposals and will respond shortly.
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to support the UK coastal fishing industry with seafood grants to improve fuel efficiency, crew health and safety, and the economic viability of the sector.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Food security is national security, and a sustainable fishing industry is an important part of that. Decisions on future funding for the fishing industry will be taken through the Spending Review processes. Discussions on the opportunities and challenges facing the industry over the last two months have been helpful in gaining an understanding of what other types of support or Government action may be appropriate. These discussions will continue.
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what support they provide to enable local authorities to improve the quality of their air and reduce pollution through the introduction of Clean Air Zones.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The Government has ring-fenced £880 million to help local authorities tackle NO2 exceedances through the development and implementation of local air quality plans and through funding to support those impacted most by these plans.
Local authorities introducing a Clean Air Zone as part of a local air quality plan can bid for Clean Air Fund funding. The Clean Air Fund can support a range of measures such as vehicle upgrade grants to individuals and businesses along with bus retrofit schemes, improvements to bus fleets, installation of electric chargepoints, provision of park and ride services, concessionary travel schemes and freight consolidation centres.