Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, when he plans to respond to the letters of 10 April and 12 May 2026 from the hon. Member for Arundel and South Downs.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department of Business and Trade aims to respond to correspondence in 15 working days, but in some instances it can take longer. The Department has conducted a search of its records and has not identified the correspondence referred to, and will respond as soon as possible if it is received.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what consideration he has given to securing reliable supplies of Helium for use in advanced manufacturing, aerospace and defence in the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
A secure supply of critical minerals, like helium, is vital for the UK’s economic growth and security, industrial strategy, and clean energy transition
Through the 2025 UK Critical Minerals Strategy we are building will build strong partnerships with key markets to diversify production and processing and strengthen our supply chains, alongside working with key existing producers.
At present, in response to the Middle East situation, the Government is assessing supply chain risks and mitigations across a range of key supply chain inputs and the sectors in which they are used. This is an ongoing process and will remain in place if it is needed.
We encourage any business experiencing disruption to visit business.gov.uk to access support and guidance.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the Department for Business and Trade workforce management information return for March 2026, for what reason the Department recorded consultancy spend of -£20,783,968.13; whether this figure reflects an accounting adjustment, correction, reclassification, refund or data error; and what the Department’s gross consultancy spend was in March 2026 before that negative adjustment was applied.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
In March 2026 an adjustment was made to correctly reclassify £14.9m of 2025-26 costs from consultancy to professional services. In addition, there was a correction of a purchase order receipt which had incorrectly recorded £9.5m of consultancy costs in February 2026. These had the effect of artificially lowering the March 2026 consultancy costs. The underlying consultancy costs for March 2026 were £3,674,344.13.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the answer of 20 April 2026 to UIN 127204, what his planned timeline is of powers exercised under the Industrial Development Act 1982 to provide assistance to Ensus.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Government has used powers under Section 7 of the Industrial Development Act 1982 to provide financial support to Ensus. This follows scrutiny and oversight from independent financial advisors and discussions with the company which have taken place since September 2025. The advice received regarding the costs associated with the Ensus plant are commercially sensitive and as such will not be published. However, to date, we have provided less than £30m of financial assistance to Ensus UK Limited.
The timing and operation of this support will be kept under review. Government will monitor market conditions closely to determine whether continued production at Ensus is required and to ensure this represents value for money for the taxpayer.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to UIN 127204, whether the financial assistance provided to Ensus exceeds £30m.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Government has used powers under Section 7 of the Industrial Development Act 1982 to provide financial support to Ensus. This follows scrutiny and oversight from independent financial advisors and discussions with the company which have taken place since September 2025. The advice received regarding the costs associated with the Ensus plant are commercially sensitive and as such will not be published. However, to date, we have provided less than £30m of financial assistance to Ensus UK Limited.
The timing and operation of this support will be kept under review. Government will monitor market conditions closely to determine whether continued production at Ensus is required and to ensure this represents value for money for the taxpayer.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the answer of 20 April 2026 to Question 127204 on Ensus UK, when Ministers first discussed providing financial support to Ensus through the Industrial Development Act 1982.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Government has used powers under Section 7 of the Industrial Development Act 1982 to provide financial support to Ensus. This follows scrutiny and oversight from independent financial advisors and discussions with the company which have taken place since September 2025. The advice received regarding the costs associated with the Ensus plant are commercially sensitive and as such will not be published. However, to date, we have provided less than £30m of financial assistance to Ensus UK Limited.
The timing and operation of this support will be kept under review. Government will monitor market conditions closely to determine whether continued production at Ensus is required and to ensure this represents value for money for the taxpayer.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to UIN 127204, if he will publish the legal advice received to determine that the costs associated with the support for Ensus are commercially sensitive.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Government has used powers under Section 7 of the Industrial Development Act 1982 to provide financial support to Ensus. This follows scrutiny and oversight from independent financial advisors and discussions with the company which have taken place since September 2025. The advice received regarding the costs associated with the Ensus plant are commercially sensitive and as such will not be published. However, to date, we have provided less than £30m of financial assistance to Ensus UK Limited.
The timing and operation of this support will be kept under review. Government will monitor market conditions closely to determine whether continued production at Ensus is required and to ensure this represents value for money for the taxpayer.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to UIN 127204, which section of the Industrial Development Act 1982 was invoked in order to provide financial assistance to Ensus.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Government has used powers under Section 7 of the Industrial Development Act 1982 to provide financial support to Ensus. This follows scrutiny and oversight from independent financial advisors and discussions with the company which have taken place since September 2025. The advice received regarding the costs associated with the Ensus plant are commercially sensitive and as such will not be published. However, to date, we have provided less than £30m of financial assistance to Ensus UK Limited.
The timing and operation of this support will be kept under review. Government will monitor market conditions closely to determine whether continued production at Ensus is required and to ensure this represents value for money for the taxpayer.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to HCWS1501, what estimate her Department has made of the total cost to the public purse of operating the Ensus UK Limited plant for the initial three-month period.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The costs associated with this intervention have been independently verified and are commercially sensitive. The Department’s Annual Report and Accounts will record the expenditure incurred with Ensus and disclosures surrounding the expenditure incurred will reflect the materiality of the arrangement to the Department’s accounts, as is required by International Financial Reporting Standards.
Government uses legal powers under the Industrial Development Act 1982 to provide financial support to Ensus. A key condition of this support requires Ensus to keep the facility on standby and restart operations when required to provide resilience for critical sectors.
Ministers were first advised of risks to CO2 supply chains arising from the Middle East conflict on 9 March.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the Written Statement of 13 April 2026 (HCWS1501), what statutory or prerogative powers were relied upon to direct Ensus UK Limited to restart production.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The costs associated with this intervention have been independently verified and are commercially sensitive. The Department’s Annual Report and Accounts will record the expenditure incurred with Ensus and disclosures surrounding the expenditure incurred will reflect the materiality of the arrangement to the Department’s accounts, as is required by International Financial Reporting Standards.
Government uses legal powers under the Industrial Development Act 1982 to provide financial support to Ensus. A key condition of this support requires Ensus to keep the facility on standby and restart operations when required to provide resilience for critical sectors.
Ministers were first advised of risks to CO2 supply chains arising from the Middle East conflict on 9 March.