Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the potential impact of rising energy costs on the rate of business deaths.

The Government monitors the economy using a range of data sources. In a dynamic and competitive economy, a proportion of businesses will cease trading each year, for a range of reasons.

The recently announced Energy Bill Relief Scheme (https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-outlines-plans-to-help-cut-energy-bills-for-businesses) all businesses and other non-domestic customers are protected from excessively high energy bills over the winter period. The Government will publish a review of the scheme after 3 months to inform decisions on future support after March 2023. The review will focus in particular on identifying the most vulnerable non-domestic customers and how the government will continue assisting them with energy costs. Continuing support to those deemed eligible would begin at the end of the initial 6-month support scheme, without a gap.