Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of fires in waste processing plants resulting from lithium-ion batteries.

Through desk-based research and conversations with the Fire Service, Waste Industry Safety and Health Forum and other members of the Steering Group, the Environment Agency has been able to acquire data and gain an understanding of the number of waste fires and costs that can be attributed to waste fires caused by lithium-ion batteries in the UK.

The Environment Agency estimates that around 48% of waste fires can be attributed to lithium-ion batteries; this equates to approximately 201 waste fires in the UK each year.