Andrew Snowden

The UK’s product safety framework requires businesses, including those that modify electric bikes, to only place safe and compliant consumer products on the market. The Office for Product Safety and Standards and Local Authority Trading Standards have powers to tackle the supply of unsafe or non-compliant consumer products and remove them from the market.

The Product Regulation and Metrology Bill will enable the Government to modernise product safety law, including placing new duties on online marketplaces to better protect consumers from unsafe products.

Enforcement of illegally modified electric bikes used on public roads is a matter for the police.

The Government is conscious that this is an anxious time for all businesses, not just those trading with the USA.

We have announced a range of measures to support SMEs dealing with cashflow difficulties linked to recent changes in global tariff rates, including an additional £500 million in lending capacity under the Growth Guarantee Scheme (GGS), delivered by the British Business Bank.

We are also expanding UKEF’s business support package by £20 billion, £10 billion of which will be used specifically for businesses impacted in the short term by the current US tariffs.

We will continue our work with businesses in the North-West and across the country to understand their assessment of the impact of US tariffs on their operations.

The Government has announced a range of measures to support SMEs, including access to additional finance through the British Business Bank and sector specific measures.

We are also expanding UKEF’s business support package by £20 billion, with £10 billion specifically aimed at businesses impacted by the current US tariffs.

Any business which is concerned about what tariff changes mean for them can find further guidance and support on great.gov.uk.

Small businesses are the backbone of our communities including those in the creative industries. The Government has a wide range of offers aimed at supporting SMEs in Lancashire and across the UK

SMEs in Fylde can benefit from specialist business advice, accessing finance and reaching new markets through Boost – Lancashire’s Business Growth Hub

We will be launching the Business Growth Service (BGS) this summer, making it easier for businesses to get the advice and support they need. Any SME in Lancashire and across the UK will be able to access expert, impartial services within the BGS free of charge.

We will continue our work with businesses in the North-West and across the country to understand their assessment of the impact of US tariffs on their operations. On 8 May we concluded a landmark economic deal with the US, which cuts tariffs for UK industry and cuts costs for businesses.

What we have agreed will provide the foundation for a new reciprocal trading partnership between the US and the UK, protecting businesses and jobs across the country. We are continuing talks on a wider UK-US Economic Deal which will look at increasing digital trade, enhancing access for our world-leading services industries and improving supply chains.

The Government has announced a range of measures to support SMEs, including access to additional finance through the British Business Bank and sector specific measures.

We are also expanding UKEF’s business support package by £20 billion, with £10 billion specifically aimed at businesses impacted by the current US tariffs.

Any business which is concerned about what tariff changes mean for them can find clear guidance and support on great.gov.uk.

On 8 May, we concluded a landmark economic deal with the US. We are continuing talks on a wider UK-US Economic Deal and we will continue our extensive engagement with businesses from across the UK throughout these remaining negotiations.

We continue to support UK businesses, including those that sell consumer electronics and agricultural goods, to grow and export around the world and to the US. Businesses can access export support via great.gov.uk such as the Export Academy, International Markets Network, Growth Hubs and Help to Grow: Management scheme.

DfE continues to make available education and training opportunities in technical and engineering sectors across the country including in Fylde and Lancashire.

DfE’s levy-funded growth and skills offer, with apprenticeships at the heart, is aligned with the industrial strategy, creating routes into good, skilled jobs in growing industries such as in engineering and technical sectors.

DBT is working with DfE, following the announced additional £625 million for construction skills training, to support the industry led Construction Skills Mission Board to collaboratively secure the workforce needed to meet future demand and deliver the government’s infrastructure and built environment commitments.

My department has a dedicated exports promotion programme for the creative industries to grow their exports. We will continue to use trade and economic partnership agreements to reduce trade barriers for creative industries businesses.

There are no current plans to support businesses with relocating their production out of China specifically. However, the Government-backed British Business Bank helps businesses to access the finance they need to invest and grow, including to relocate parts or all of their business.

UK Export Finance can help SMEs win contracts by providing attractive financing terms to buyers, support working capital loans to take on and fulfil orders effectively, and make sure SMEs get paid by offering Government-backed insurance against buyer default.

The UK's Trade Strategy will mark a reset in our approach to international trade and set out the future priorities for our trade policy. This strategy will also set out how trade can stimulate economic growth through delivery of targeted business benefits in a rapidly changing global landscape. We will continue to support SMEs through future agreements, including measures that will help offset tariffs and access global markets.

DBT monitors the financial health of the SME population using a wide range of sources, including the SME Finance Monitor which stated that in 2024, 35% of SMEs rated costs as a major obstacle to running business in the next 12 months, compared with 38% in 2023. The Bank of England is responsible for controlling inflation through monetary policy tools. It has cut the interest rates four times since August 2024 as inflationary pressures eased from their recent peak, working to sustainably returning inflation to the 2% target rate.

In addition, the government is establishing trade agreements that will help reduce cost. Supermarkets have said publicly that the recently announced UK-EU SPS Agreement will help to ease the pressure on food prices.

Hospitality businesses are at the heart of our communities and play a vital role in supporting economic growth across the UK.

The Government recently launched a licensing taskforce to reduce red tape and barriers that too often hold businesses back and intends to introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality and leisure properties with a rateable value less than £500,000

Additionally, we recently announced a £1.5 million Hospitality Support Scheme to co-fund projects that align with Department of Business & Trade and Hospitality Sector Council Priorities. I am working with Council Members to maximise the benefits of this funding.

We encourage responses to the request for input from all organisations that think their imports could be affected by any potential UK tariffs on a particular commodity code.

Lethal and non-lethal firearms under CN 93039000 are not classified as military weapons. Heading 9303 does not mention military weapons, military weapons are instead classified in the earlier headings, such as 9301 (9301 Military weapons, other than revolvers, pistols and the arms of heading 9307 (this heading covers semi-automatic firearms and rifles).

Organisations that have additional specific classification enquiries can be directed to the mailbox: classification.enquiries@hmrc.gov.uk

We continue to work closely with HM Treasury on the challenges facing high street and other businesses including those within the nighttime economy.

The Government is protecting the smallest employers by increasing the Employment Allowance to £10,500, and removing the £100,000 eligibility threshold, meaning all eligible employers benefit. This means that in 2025-26 865,000 employers will pay no National Insurance Contributions at all, and more than half of employers will see no change or will gain overall from this package.

We are creating a fairer business rate system, reducing alcohol duty on qualifying draught products and transforming the apprenticeship levy to support business and boost opportunities.

Government protects the sustainability of the branch network by providing funding on the basis that Post Office meets minimum access criteria for example including in Fylde, that across the country, 99% of the population live within three miles of their nearest Post Office. Government works to ensure Post Office Limited maintains a minimum number of branches and a geographical spread of branches in line with the published access criteria. Along with the annual £50 million subsidy, we have provided a further £37.5 million in December last year to safeguard services in the uncommercial parts of the network.

The Plan to Make Work Pay is central to our Plan for Change to grow the economy, raise living standards and create opportunities for all. It will tackle low pay, poor working conditions and poor job security, creating long-term growth and investment to support businesses. We must ensure that our Plan works for all businesses. Insights gained from our ongoing engagement with businesses has been invaluable in developing proportionate, effective policy. Make Work Pay will increase workforce productivity and ensure a level playing field, so businesses trying to do the right thing, like those in Fylde, are not undercut.

The Plan to Make Work Pay is central to our Plan for Change to grow the economy, raise living standards and create opportunities for all. It will tackle low pay, poor working conditions and poor job security, creating long-term growth and investment to support businesses. We must ensure that our Plan works for all businesses. Insights gained from our ongoing engagement with businesses has been invaluable in developing proportionate, effective policy. Make Work Pay will increase workforce productivity and ensure a level playing field, so businesses trying to do the right thing, like those in Fylde, are not undercut.

Revitalising our high streets is a priority for this government. We are delivering across government to create better conditions for high street businesses to thrive. The new Crime and Policing Bill will give better protection for businesses and retail workers, including those in Fylde, against assault and theft. We have introduced High Street Rental Auction powers for local authorities and before Christmas we opened the 100th Banking Hub – providing essential banking services for businesses and high street users. At the Budget the Chancellor announced plans to work with industry to design a new business rates system.

Our Small Business Strategy, to be published later this year, will set out this Government’s plan for further supporting small businesses across key areas, including on the high street.

Within Fylde constituency, Kirkham is benefitting from £6.29m from the Future High Street Fund and £3.27m from High Street Heritage Action Zone funding. This will help Kirkham become a more vibrant destination through town centre regeneration, bringing benefits to businesses and residents in Fylde.

Exports of the Eurofighter Typhoon jets are led by the Ministry of Defence (MOD). My Department does however support MOD-led export campaigns through our network of staff in the UK and overseas. We also work closely with the Typhoon partner governments of Germany, Italy and Spain, in line with the commitments each nation has made to support the others' exports.

Earlier this month, the Defence Secretary was in Turkey and Saudi Arabia to discuss with Defence Ministers the future role that UK-made Typhoons could play in both countries.

The latest published Warm Home Discount statistics are for 2023-24 and use the constituency boundaries operating prior to the 2024 General Election. Most (85%) of the residential premises in the current Fylde constituency come from the Fylde constituency under the previous boundaries, in which 3,919 households received the Warm Home Discount rebate in 2023-24. The Warm Home Discount statistics for 2024-25 will be published on 26^th June 2025. The statistics only cover receipt of the Warm Home Discount and estimates of eligibility are not available.

The Clean Power 2030 Action Plan makes clear that nuclear will play an important role in our future energy system, providing low-carbon, baseload power to the grid. Sizewell C continues to make good progress, while Great British Nuclear is driving forward its Small Modular Reactor competition, with final decisions to be taken shortly. The Nuclear Regulatory Task Force set up by the Prime Minister is working to identify reforms to better enable speedier, safe deployment of nuclear technology.

Great British Energy's head office will be in Aberdeen recognising the city's experience in energy projects and the need to support a just and prosperous transition. GBE will develop, invest in and own clean energy projects across the UK which will mean investments in many communities. The Prime Minister announced an initial £300m for supply chain investment from GBE which will create jobs and opportunities across the country including in the North West of England. Specific projects will be announced in due course

There are various schemes currently delivering home energy efficiency improvements across Great Britain, including Flyde and Lancashire, such as the Warm Homes: Local Grant (WH:LG), Energy Company Obligation and the Great British Insulation Scheme. Households in the private rented sector (PRS) are eligible if they receive means tested benefits and fall within Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) band E-G.

The WH:LG provides support for low income tenants in the PRS by allowing PRS landlords to claim 100% grant funding towards the cost of energy performance upgrades for one privately rented home that meets the scheme eligibility criteria, with any subsequent eligible homes in their portfolio requiring a 50% cost contribution from the landlord.

This Government is committed to attracting the investment required to deliver future nuclear projects. The Regulated Asset Base (RAB) model for nuclear has been established as an option for funding nuclear projects, aiming to reduce financing costs and attract long-term investment from private capital providers, with the Sizewell C project designated to utilise the model. Additionally, my Department works closely with the Office for Investment and other parts of Government to promote investment opportunities in the UK nuclear sector.

The Government believes that our mission to deliver clean power by 2030 is the best way to break our dependence on global fossil fuel markets and protect billpayers permanently.

The creation of Great British Energy will help us to harness clean energy with less reliance on volatile international energy markets and help in our commitment to make Britain a clean energy superpower by 2030.

In the short-term, the Government wants to provide businesses with better protection from being locked into unfair and expensive energy contracts, and more redress when they have a complaint. Last year, the Government launched a consultation on introducing regulation of Third-Party Intermediaries (TPIs), such as energy brokers. This is aimed at enhancing consumer protections, particularly for non-domestic consumers.

The consultation has now closed, and a Government response will follow in due course once all feedback has been reviewed.

There is support in place through the British Industry Supercharger to reduce the cumulative impact of energy and climate change policies on industrial electricity prices for eligible energy intensive industries (EIIs), including compensation for indirect emission costs of the UK ETS and Carbon Price Support and reductions in the indirect cost due to the Contracts for Difference, Renewables Obligation and small-scale feed-in-tariffs.

The Government believes that our mission to deliver clean power by 2030 is the best way to break our dependence on global fossil fuel markets and protect billpayers permanently.

The creation of Great British Energy will help us to harness clean energy and have less reliance on volatile international energy markets and help in our commitment to make Britain a clean energy superpower by 2030. This, combined with our Warm Homes Plan to upgrade millions of homes to make them warmer and cheaper to run is how we will drive down energy bills and make cold homes a thing of the past.

We recognise that we need to support households struggling with bills whilst we transition to clean power by 2030. This is why we are delivering the Warm Home Discount to around 3 million eligible low-income households this winter. In February, we published a consultation on the expansion of the Warm Home Discount, giving more eligible households £150 off their energy bills. These proposals would bring around 2.7 million households into the scheme – pushing the total number of households that would receive the discount next winter up to around 6 million.

The actual costs of delivering the Seventh Carbon Budget will be determined by the choices that government makes. The costs and funding scenarios set out in the CCC’s Seventh Carbon Budget report are illustrative and do not represent government policy and Government is not bound to accept their recommendations. We will set the level of Carbon Budget 7 by June 2026, in line with our statutory duties.

The Government believes that our mission to deliver clean power by 2030 is the best way to break our dependence on global fossil fuel markets and protect billpayers permanently.

The creation of Great British Energy will help us to harness clean energy with less reliance on volatile international energy markets and help in our commitment to make Britain a clean energy superpower by 2030.

The Government recognises that one of the barriers to industrial electrification is that electricity is significantly more expensive than gas. We also recognise that the UK’s industrial electricity costs are currently higher than those of our competitors, which partly reflects how the costs of the electricity system are distributed across households and industrial customers.

There is support in place through the British Industry Supercharger to reduce the cumulative impact of energy and climate change policies on industrial electricity prices for eligible energy intensive industries (EIIs), including compensation for indirect emission costs of the UK ETS and Carbon Price Support and reductions in the indirect cost due to the Contracts for Difference, Renewables Obligation and small-scale feed-in-tariffs.

In an unstable world, the only way to guarantee energy security and protect billpayers is to accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels. That is why government has a mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower.

We have a sustainable, long-term plan to protect all UK billpayers, including the people of Fylde and Lancashire, from volatile international gas markets. Backed by £8.3 billion, Great British Energy is part of this plan, driving the deployment of the clean, homegrown energy we need to boost our energy independence. As a publicly-owned company, Great British Energy will ensure UK taxpayers, billpayers, and communities reap the benefits of this.

The Clean Heat Market Mechanism does not require any change in the price of fossil fuel boilers.

The Government took steps before introducing the scheme to revise the 2023 proposals in order to reduce impacts on boiler manufacturers and provide them more time to scale up supply chains.

The Government believes that our mission to deliver clean power by 2030 is the best way to break our dependence on global fossil fuel markets and protect billpayers – including those in Fylde - permanently. This, combined with our Warm Homes Plan to upgrade millions of homes to make them warmer and cheaper to run is how we will drive down energy bills and make cold homes a thing of the past.

We are delivering the Warm Home Discount to around 3 million eligible low-income households this winter. On 25 February, we published a consultation on the expansion of the Warm Home Discount, giving more eligible households £150 off their energy bills. These proposals would bring around 2.7 million households into the scheme – pushing the total number of households that would receive the discount next winter up to around 6 million.

The Government has extended the Household Support Fund in England until 31 March 2026 with an extra £742 million in support, with additional funding for the Devolved Governments. In addition, I have also worked with energy suppliers to agree a £500 million Winter Commitment to help customers struggling with bills this winter.

In an unstable world, the only way to guarantee energy security and protect billpayers is to accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels. That is why government has a mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower.

We have a sustainable, long-term plan to protect all UK billpayers, including the people of Fylde, from volatile international gas markets. Backed by £8.3 billion, Great British Energy is part of this plan, driving the deployment of the clean, homegrown energy we need to boost our energy independence. As a publicly-owned company, Great British Energy will ensure UK taxpayers, billpayers, and communities reap the benefits of this.

The Department does not hold this information. The National Energy System Operator (NESO) is responsible for managing constraints and publishes yearly breakdowns by cost and volume, which can be found here: Constraint Breakdown Costs and Volume | National Energy System Operator. Data is not available on the split of costs between different types of generators.

Increasing the capacity of Great Britain’s electricity network is essential for reducing curtailment and constraint payments. This is why the Government is working to accelerate the build of new network infrastructure, so more cheap, homegrown energy can power up our homes and businesses.

The National Energy System Operator (NESO) considered the onshore and offshore network as a whole when conducting the assessment of options to connect the Morgan and Morecambe offshore wind projects to the onshore grid as part of its Holistic Network Design (HND). The assessment considered factors including substation capacity and community and environmental impacts of substation extension, if required to support offshore connections.

It is a commercial matter for energy companies if they decide to sell a project, in whole or in part, and at what point in the project’s lifecycle.

Whilst all routes to a Clean Power system will require mass deployment of wind power, we recognise that to achieve a clean, affordable and secure system we will need a mix of generation technologies. The Government is supporting the development and deployment of many other renewable generation technologies, including solar, biomass, tidal and geothermal. It is also supporting new nuclear, and low carbon dispatchable technologies such as hydrogen to power and power with carbon capture, usage and storage.

Wholesale energy costs have decreased for non-domestic consumers since the global energy crisis, but we recognise that some businesses may be struggling to pay their bills. The Government believes that our mission to deliver clean power by 2030 is the best way to break our dependence on global fossil fuel markets and protect billpayers permanently.

In the short-term, the Government wants to provide businesses with better protection from being locked into unfair and expensive energy contracts, and more redress when they have a complaint. Last year, the Government launched a consultation on introducing regulation of Third-Party Intermediaries (TPIs), such as energy brokers. This is aimed at enhancing consumer protections, particularly for non-domestic consumers. The consultation has now closed, and a Government response will follow in due course once all feedback has been reviewed.

Business owners struggling to pay their bills should contact their supplier to discuss their options, including ‘blend and extend’ contracts, where the higher unit rate is blended with a new lower rate, spreading the cost over the course of a long contract.