Covenham Parish Council is supporting the campaign.
Lord Foster and Electrical Safety First are promoting a Bill detailed below to ensure greater safety in the use and disposal of lithium batteries and are aiming to get it into law as soon as possible. It has its First Reading on 5th June.
We have the support of many national organisations, as the attached logos show – including the National Fire Chiefs Council, the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents and the Royal Society for Public Health. In addition 2 coroners have called for the law to be tightened to ensure greater safety..
The Safety of Electric-Powered Micromobility Vehicles and Lithium Batteries
Bill
A Bill to make provisions regarding the safety of electric-powered micromobility
vehicles and of lithium batteries; to give duties to the Secretary of State regarding
those matters; and for connected purposes.
1. The safety of electric-powered micromobility vehicles and secondary lithium-
ion batteries used to power such vehicles
(1) No person shall after 31st August 2025 place on the UK market any electric-
powered micromobility vehicle or a secondary lithium-ion battery used to power such
vehicles unless –
(a) conformity assessment procedures have been carried out by a conformity
assessment body (‘CAB’) authorised by the Secretary of State to carry out
such assessments; and
(b) the manufacturer has drawn up the technical documentation and
declaration of conformity; and
(c) the electric-powered micromobility vehicle and the battery used to power
such vehicles bear the CE or UKCA mark to demonstrate conformity with
designated or harmonised standards.
(2) The Secretary of State must within 6 months of the passing of this Act publish a
list of CABs recognised as being able to carry out conformity assessment procedures
pursuant to subsection (1).
(3) Where in the opinion of a CAB, a product covered by this Act has successfully met
the essential safety requirements of applicable regulations, it shall issue a certificate
of conformity to the manufacturer.
(4) Where a certificate of conformity has been issued pursuant to subsection (3) a
manufacturer must display a CE or a UKCA mark on any product covered by this Act
before it is placed on the UK market.
(5) No person shall display a CE or a UKCA mark on any product covered by this Act
unless a certificate of conformity has been issued for the product given in accordance
with this Act.
2. Disposal of Secondary Lithium-ion Batteries
(1) The Secretary of State must, within 6 months of the passing of this Act, make
regulations regarding the safe disposal of lithium batteries.
(2) The regulations made pursuant to subsection (1) may include a requirement for
sellers of such batteries to:
(a) Display a prominent warning about the dangers of improper disposal of
lithium batteries not in accordance with those regulations; and
(b) Attach as part of the sale
(i) Information regarding the cell chemistry of lithium batteries and;
(ii) information regarding the safe disposal of such batteries.
3. Duties of the Secretary of State
(1) (1) The Secretary of State must, within 12 months of the passing of this Act,
make regulations
(a) Specifying safety standards for micromobility vehicle conversion kits and
associated components; and
(b) Requiring that all micromobility vehicles have either
(i) a non-proprietary charging system with a communications protocol;
or
(ii)a proprietary charging system with a matched charger
and such regulations may include details of the means by which those standards will
be enforced and the penalties for failing to comply with those standards.
(2) The Secretary of State must within 6 months of the passing of this Act consult such
persons as he considers have an interest in this matter on whether to implement an
interim measure which prohibits the sale of universal chargers for electric-powered
micromobility vehicles until such time as the regulations detailed in (1) (a) or (1) (b)
come into force.
4. Offences
Any person who fails to comply with the terms of this Act commits an offence.
.
5. Interpretation
In this Act, the following terms have the following meanings:
• 'Electric-powered micromobility' means electric scooters or electric bicycles
powered by secondary lithium-ion batteries, as defined in the Department of
Transport 2020 publication ‘Future of Transport Regulatory Review Moving
Britain Ahead Call for Evidence’.
• ‘A lithium battery’ is a non-rechargeable battery with lithium as an anode.
• 'A secondary lithium-ion battery' is a type of rechargeable battery in which the
main reaction is the transport and intercalation of lithium ions into the cathode
and anode respectively as defined in the BEIS Research Paper No 2020/037
entitled ‘Domestic Battery Energy Storage Systems A Review of Safety Risks’.
• ‘A proprietary charging system’ comprises of a manufacturer specified plug and
socket system designed only to operate in combination with each other.
• ‘A non-proprietary charging system’ comprises of a non-manufacturer specified
plug and socket system consisting of a standardised plug and socket and a
communications protocol.
• ‘A communications protocol’ is a set of formal rules describing how to transmit
or exchange data.
• 'A CE marking' means a mark consisting of the symbol “CE” set out in the form
specified by the Secretary of State in regulations made pursuant to this Act.
• A ‘UKCA’ marking is a UK Conformity Assessed marking displayed in the form
specified by the Secretary of State in regulations made pursuant to this Act.
• A conversion kit is the electrical drive train, battery and charging system, that is
fitted to a regular pedal bicycle to convert it to an electric bike.
6. Regulations
(1) The Secretary of State must, within six months of the passing of this Act, make
regulations specifying:
(a) Any amendments to the definition of the term ‘electric-powered
micromobility’ that, in the Secretary of State’s opinion, are necessary.
(b) The penalties that shall apply to breaches of this Act.
(2) Regulations under this Act shall be made by statutory instrument pursuant to the
negative resolution procedure.
7. Extent, Commencement, and Short Title
(1) This Act extends to the whole of the UK, subject to resolutions being passed by
(a) The Scottish Parliament;
(b) Senedd Cymru;
(c) The Northern Ireland Assembly
applying it to their respective countries.
(2) This Act comes into force on the day on which it is passed.
(3) This Act may be cited as the Safety of Electric-Powered Micromobility and Lithium
Batteries Act 2023."