"The Government work closely with the National Fire Chiefs Council on battery fire safety. In October 2025, Minister Shanks held a round table on battery safety with industry, regulators and academics, including NFCC representatives. In the last five years, there have been four grid-scale battery fires in Great Britain. Analysis …..." Lord Whitehead - View Speech
"The Government are actively exploring additional measures to manage safety risks on the grid-scale battery energy storage sites. That is important in the context, as the noble Earl mentions, of the substantial expansion that there will be in batteries as an essential part of the UK’s balancing energy system for …..." Lord Whitehead - View Speech
"I think that we should get this into some proportion. As I have said, the number of battery fires over the last five years is four. The percentage of fires that you might encounter in an industrial premises or commercial premises is higher than the proportion per thousand of battery …..." Lord Whitehead - View Speech
"I do not intend to go back to the department and tell it that its particular concerns are wrong. What we are talking about today are fires in large stand-alone battery storage plants, of which there have been four in the last five years. If the noble Lord would like …..." Lord Whitehead - View Speech
"My noble friend, to whom I pay tribute for his enormous service in the fire service over a number of years, really ought to be the person who knows what he is talking about on this subject. He refers to the fire in North Hyde a little while ago, which, …..." Lord Whitehead - View Speech
"The Government already have moved to make sure that the fire services and developers are closely involved in applications as far as large batteries are concerned. The planning practice guidance has been updated to ensure that developers consult fire services in the pursuit of their applications. The fire service itself …..." Lord Whitehead - View Speech
"I thank the noble Lords for their thorough and constructive response to this Statement on the local energy plan, and for their general support, particularly for the local power plan itself. I particularly thank the noble Earl, Lord Russell, for his forensic analysis of the detail of the report and …..." Lord Whitehead - View Speech
"I thank my noble friend Lady Gill for her carefully thought-out contribution. These are questions that we need to make sure we have got right as far as a local power plan is concerned.
The first thing I can say is, yes, the local power plan will start saving people …..." Lord Whitehead - View Speech
"That the draft Order laid before the House on 16 December 2025 be approved.
Relevant document: 47th Report from the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee. Considered in Grand Committee on 28 January...." Lord Whitehead - View Speech
"My Lords, this order was laid before Parliament on 16 December 2025.
The UK Emissions Trading Scheme, or UK ETS, was established—perhaps I should say “re-established”—under the Climate Change Act 2008 by the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme Order 2020 as a UK-wide greenhouse gas emissions trading scheme, contributing to …..." Lord Whitehead - View Speech