Oral Answers to Questions

Karl McCartney Excerpts

Tuesday 29th September 2020 Commons Chamber

[Joy Morrissey (Beaconsfield) (Con)]

What steps his Department is taking to support an environmentally sustainable economic recovery in the automotive sector.

[Karl MᶜCartney (Lincoln) (Con)]

What steps his Department is taking to support an environmentally sustainable economic recovery in the automotive sector.

--- Later in debate ---

[Nadhim Zahawi]

Green recovery is an absolute priority for my Department. We have brought forward funding to restart innovation, support business and deliver our decarbonisation ambitions. This includes £10 million through the Advanced Propulsion Centre and £12 million from the Office for Low Emission Vehicles.

[Karl MᶜCartney [V]]

I thank my hon. Friend for his earlier answer. Vehicle regulations regarding electric vehicles, I am told, now come under the auspices of the electricity at work regulations. Not many garages realise that and as electric cars have the equivalent to domestic three-phase electricity amounts of stored energy that can kill very easily, what is he doing to ensure that we do not lead the world in deaths in this sector?

[Nadhim Zahawi]

There are 182,000 vehicle technicians in the UK, of which 21,000 are EV qualified. Last year, we endorsed the Institute of the Motor Industry’s TechSafe professional standards, which will help to ensure that staff are properly trained and qualified to work on electric vehicles.