debates/debates2025-12-11a conversation_5
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-12-11)

UK Parliament Hansard data: debates/debates2025-12-11a conversation_5

Bill Esterson:What steps his Department is taking to support businesses with energy costs. \p Chris McDonald: My hon. Friend, through his chairmanship of the Energy Security and Net Zero Committee, is working very hard to highlight the issues of business competitiveness and energy costs to businesses. I would draw his attention to the British industrial competitiveness scheme consultation, which I launched a couple of weeks ago, which is our commitment through the industrial strategy to reduce energy costs for over 7,000 manufacturing businesses by around £40 per megawatt-hour from 2027. I encourage all Members to ensure that manufacturing businesses in their constituencies respond to that consultation. \p Bill Esterson: Reducing costs by £40 per megawatt-hour for 7,000 manufacturing businesses is welcome, as is the news in the Budget of changes to the British industry supercharger scheme. However, there are tens—if not hundreds—of thousands of other manufacturing businesses facing some of the highest electricity prices in Europe, which has been the case for many years. What is the plan to help the businesses facing very high bills right now while we wait for lower electricity bills in the longer term through Government plans for clean power? \p Chris McDonald: My hon. Friend is right. Alongside the British industrial competitiveness scheme, we have also committed to increasing network charges compensation from 60% to 90% under the network charging compensation scheme. We are also reviewing our energy intensive industries compensation scheme. He is right to recognise the lack of competitiveness on energy prices between the UK and the rest of Europe—a terrible situation that was bequeathed to us by the previous Conservative Government and their ideological adherence to relying on foreign dictators such as Putin for Britain’s energy needs. We are investing in our future energy needs to ensure that they are clean, cheap and secure. \p Lincoln Jopp: National Grid is going to spend about £30 billion by the end of the decade building pylons, but only 2% of the steel used to build those pylons will be British; similarly, in the offshore wind projects, only 2% of the steel will be British. That is because of carbon taxes and energy costs. Does the Minister recognise that rather than promoting the opportunity of the great, green revolution that they were espousing earlier, the Government are actually killing British business with high energy costs? \p Chris McDonald: I do not believe the hon. Gentleman is correct to attribute that cause to carbon taxes or energy costs, but I share his concern about the lack of British steel and other British materials being used in construction projects funded by the taxpayer. I believe that the taxpayer expects materials for such projects to largely be sourced from the UK. That is why I had cause over the last couple of weeks to speak to British Petroleum about its use of Chinese steel in energy projects. I will continue to call in the chief executives of companies and discuss with them how we will increase British content in British projects. \p Gareth Snell: The UK ceramics sector is one of the most gas and electricity-intensive industries in the UK, so I make my usual plea to the Minister to consider changes to the supercharger scheme ahead of the British industrial competitiveness scheme coming online. Will he also give some thought to the electrification process? There are parts of the ceramics sector that would like to electrify, but the industrial grid capacity simply does not exist yet. What will the Government do to allow those companies to move forward with electrification, which ultimately will help to bring down their energy bills? \p Chris McDonald: I thank my hon. Friend for his question and for the incredibly constructive Westminster Hall debate we had last week on the ceramics industry, which was supported by my hon. Friend and other Members representing ceramics constituencies around the Stoke and Staffordshire area.

I recognise my hon. Friend’s call for ceramics to be considered under the review of the supercharger scheme, and I have ensured that those calls have been heard within the Department. I want to ensure that ceramics is considered very carefully as part of that. I also appreciate the continued commitment of Ceramics UK, which I met with last week, and the rest of the ceramics industry to work together with me to see how we can improve the competitiveness of the industry. \p Clive Jones: In Wokingham we are lucky to have 119 great hospitality businesses. Those businesses are struggling under the burden of rising energy costs, increases in national insurance and business rates and many other cost increases. The Liberal Democrats called for a 5% cut in VAT to help the hospitality sector, but the Chancellor ignored that proposal, which would have gone some way to help businesses cope with rising energy costs. What is the Minister doing to ease the concerns of business owners in Wokingham, who will be worried about their businesses? \p Chris McDonald: The Government are, of course, very concerned about cost pressures on hospitality businesses. The Under-Secretary of State for Business  and Trade, my hon. Friend the Member for East Renfrewshire (Blair McDougall) met with hospitality businesses just this week to discuss exactly that. The hon. Member raises the question of a reduction in value added tax, which would affect the whole industry, so it would be something of a blunt instrument. Instead, the Government are providing transitional support for those businesses, particularly on business rates. We continue to listen to and work with the sector. \p Lindsay Hoyle: I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson. \p Sarah Olney: I wish to come in after question 6, Mr Speaker—apologies. \p Lindsay Hoyle: That is not what we have been told by your department, but I am sure we can make arrangements accordingly.