Edward Morello

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

Raising the revenue required to fund public services and restore economic stability requires difficult decisions on tax, which is why we are asking employers to contribute more.

The Government will protect the smallest businesses by increasing the Employment Allowance to £10,500. This means that this year, 865,000 employers will pay no NICs at all, more than half of employers see no change or gain overall from this package and employers will be able to employ up to four full-time workers on the National Living Wage and pay no employer NICs.

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

I chair the Hospitality Sector Council, which meets quarterly in which we discuss issues the sector faces. I also meet regularly with individual businesses to hear about the pressures they are facing.

We’re increasing the Employment Allowance to £10,500, allowing 865,000 employers to pay no NICs this year. This, for example, means employers can hire up to four full-time workers on the National Living Wage without paying employer NICs.

Exports of firearms are controlled by the Export Control Order 2008 and Regulation (EU) No 258/2012. Only once an export licence has been issued can the export proceed.

We rigorously assess every application on a case-by-case basis against strict assessment criteria, the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria (SELC). The SELC provide a thorough risk assessment framework for export licence applications and require us to carefully consider the impact of providing equipment and its capabilities. We will not license the export of equipment where to do so would be inconsistent with the SELC.

The SELC were announced to Parliament on 8 December 2021 by the then International Trade Secretary. The full written ministerial statement can be found at: https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2021-12-08/hcws449.

The Department for Business and Trade recognises the economic value of traditional boat building, particularly in areas like West Dorset. Training in traditional methods can contribute transferable skills for preserving cultural heritage, promoting sustainability and growing businesses.

Traditional boat building forms part of the wider leisure marine sector which contributed £1.4 billion in GVA and supported 29,000 jobs in 2019 [1]. The South West region alone generated £4 billion in turnover [2]. We continue to support the sector through events like the Southampton Boat Show and METSTRADE and promote its heritage and skills as vital to the UK’s maritime economy.

[1] State of the Maritime Nation, 2022

[2] State of the Maritime Nation, 2022

DBT works closely with the Department for Transport and industry to capitalise on the opportunity across the sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) market. It is estimated that by 2050, up to 15,000 jobs and £5bn GVA in the UK could be supported with future low carbon fuel production for the domestic and international markets. Government has already introduced strong incentives to support the SAF industry in the UK including: the SAF Mandate (effective 1 January 2025), the forthcoming Revenue Certainty Mechanism, and the Advanced Fuels Fund, which is extended for a further year with an additional £63m of funding.

Ofcom is the independent regulator for the postal sector with the responsibility and powers to regulate postal services.

Ofcom’s approach to protecting consumers is to include a condition that all postal operators must establish, make available, and comply with transparent, simple, and inexpensive procedures for dealing with consumers’ complaints about the services they receive.

Ofcom is committed to ongoing monitoring of operators’ performance and will consider enforcement action or further regulation to protect consumers.

We want more trade opportunities for British farmers to grow their businesses, including for the more than 1,000 commercial farm holdings in West Dorset. Our FTAs will help open new long term potential export markets. For example, we are pressing ahead with our accession to the CPTPP which enters into force on 15 December. This will facilitate easier market access for agriculture products for which Dorset is celebrated, such as by reducing tariffs on UK dairy in countries such as Chile and Japan.

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) promotes and supports investment opportunities across all of the UK. In Dorset, DBT has a strong relationship with Dorset Council and proactively promotes the county’s sector strengths, particularly in areas such as AgriTech, Advanced Manufacturing and Defence.

The Government confirmed in the Autumn Budget that it will continue to fund Growth Hubs, including the Dorset Growth Hub, in 2025/26. This will provide key support for local businesses, including those in West Dorset. The forthcoming Industrial Strategy will also help guide investment in areas across the UK based on unique economic opportunities and advantages.

Rural areas offer significant potential for growth and are central to our economy. DBT works with other departments such as Defra, helping people living and working in rural areas to realise the full potential of rural businesses and communities placing them at the heart of our policymaking.

Our people-first focus will empower local leaders to make the best decisions for their regions, whether that is in rural or urban areas, by taking a place-based approach to transport. The Government has recently launched its plan to develop an Integrated National Transport Strategy, setting out how transport should be designed, built and operated.

DBT is supporting companies like Baboo Gelato, based just outside Dorchester, to take their first steps into exporting.

UK businesses, including those in West Dorset constituency, can access DBT’s wealth of export support via Great.gov.uk. This comprises a online support offer and our wider network of support, including Export Champions, the Export Academy, our International Markets network, and UK Export Finance. Alongside this, our International Trade Advisers use their extensive experience of exporting and knowledge of the needs of SMEs in their sectors and regions to provide one-to-one tailored support to businesses.

Pubs, including in West Dorset, are at the heart of our communities and play a vital role in supporting economic growth across the UK. That’s why it is important for us to act on the challenges that they face, by reforming business rates to level the playing field for all businesses from hospitality to the high street. The Chancellor has confirmed that she will be making decisions on tax policy at the Budget on 30 October.

We have established Skills England, a new partnership with employers at its heart and will transform the existing Apprenticeship Levy into a more flexible Growth and Skills Levy to support business and boost opportunity.

The Government has been investing £100 million in research and innovation for Greenhouse Gas Removals (GGR) technologies, including the Direct Air Capture and GGR Innovation Competition. Phase 2 of the competition was announced in July 2022, with over £49 million of government funding awarded across 14 of the most promising projects to engineer and manufacture carbon removal pilot plant demonstrators. The Government has also been developing business models to incentivise private investment in large-scale UK GGR projects, and enabled GGR projects to apply for access to the Hynet Carbon Capture Usage and Storage cluster through the Track 1 expansion process.

Invitations to meet should be sent in the normal way by post or by email.

Greenhouse Gas Removal technologies will be important for reaching net zero. The Government has been developing Business Models to incentivise private investment into large-scale removal projects, commissioned the British Standards Institution to develop a Greenhouse Gas Removal Standard, has delivered £100 million in innovation funding, including through the Direct Air Capture and Greenhouse Gas Removal Innovation Programme and published a consultation on the inclusion of Greenhouse Gas Removals in the UK Emissions Trading Scheme. Greenhouse Gas Removal and Power Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage projects were allowed to apply to the HyNet Track-1 expansion cluster.

Under the Warm Homes Plan, officials are exploring the role of incentives and private finance for households to support homeowners with the upfront costs of energy efficiency improvements and low carbon heating.

The Government has launched the ‘Warm and Fuzzy’ campaign to promote the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS). The campaign seeks to build consumer awareness and understanding of heat pumps, as well as publicising the £7,500 government grant. The BUS is available to homeowners in England and Wales, including West Dorset.

There is also a zero-rate of VAT until March 2027 on energy saving measures, such as insulation and low-carbon heating.

Further details on the Warm Homes Plan will be set out in due course.

The UK Government is committed to ensuring that no-one is left behind in the transition to Net Zero, supplying solutions that work for all buildings, income groups, and housing types such as farmhouses. As part of the Warm Homes Plan, the Government has committed initial £3.4 billion over the next three years towards heat decarbonisation and household energy efficiency.

There are various schemes currently delivering home energy efficiency improvements including the Energy Company Obligation, the Great British Insulation Scheme, and the Boiler Upgrade Scheme. The new Warm Homes: Local Grant will support low-income homeowners and private tenants with insulation measures, with delivery beginning this year.

Households can also use the home retrofit tool on GOV.UK, ‘Find ways to save energy in your home’ (www.gov.uk/improve-energy-efficiency) which allows users to get tailored recommendations for home improvements that could make their property cheaper to heat and keep warm.

The Government recognises the importance of time of use tariffs, and we are putting in place reforms such as Smart Metering and the Market-wide Half Hourly Settlement to support the growth of these products. Tariff setting is a matter for suppliers, including the setting of peak and off-peak tariffs, and is regulated by Ofgem, including through the price cap which already has a variant to accommodate multi-rate tariffs such as Economy 7.

I regularly engage with stakeholders, including consumer groups and energy suppliers, to ensure that the sector meets the differing needs of consumers.

The Government recognises the importance of time of use tariffs, and we are putting in place reforms such as Smart Metering and the Market-wide Half Hourly Settlement to support the growth of these products. Tariff setting is a matter for suppliers, including the setting of peak and off-peak tariffs, and is regulated by Ofgem, including through the price cap which already has a variant to accommodate multi-rate tariffs such as Economy 7.

I regularly engage with stakeholders, including consumer groups and energy suppliers, to ensure that the sector meets the differing needs of consumers.

The Government recognises the importance of time of use tariffs, and we are putting in place reforms such as Smart Metering and the Market-wide Half Hourly Settlement to support the growth of these products. Tariff setting is a matter for suppliers, and is regulated by Ofgem, including through the price cap which already has a variant to accommodate multi-rate tariffs such as Economy 7.

I regularly engage with stakeholders, including consumer groups and energy suppliers, to ensure that the sector meets the differing needs of consumers.

Technology and innovation are essential to reaching clean power by 2030 and are a critical part of the Government’s deployment plans for achieving the Clean Energy Superpower Mission.

The Southwest of England is playing an important role in advancing clean technologies, with over £120m committed to the region through our Net Zero Innovation Portfolio (NZIP).

Government recognises the important role community groups play in our efforts to tackle climate change and offers support for the sector. Great British Energy’s Local Power Plan will support communities to roll out small and medium scale renewable energy projects, providing commercial, technical and project‑planning assistance, increasing their capability and capacity to build a pipeline of successful projects in their local areas. Government also supports the sector through the £10 million Community Energy Fund, which allows both rural and urban communities across England to access grant funding to develop local renewable energy projects for investment.

The ‘Find Ways to Save Energy in Your Home’ tool on Gov.uk provides homeowners, including those living off the gas grid, with impartial and tailored advice on how to retrofit their homes. The website can be accessed at the following link: www.gov.uk/improve-energy-efficiency.

Regarding financial support for upgrades, there are a number of schemes providing financial assistance to help rural off-grid households switch to low carbon heating including the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, Home Upgrade Grant, Energy Company Obligation and the Great British Insulation scheme. We have also announced a new Warm Homes: Local Grant, with delivery expected in 2025.

Small and medium-sized businesses can visit the UK Business Climate Hub, which is run in partnership with Government, for advice and support on reducing emissions.

Climate Change Agreements provide tax discounts for businesses reducing their emissions, and the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund supports industrial sites with high energy use to transition.

Great British Energy’s Local Power Plan will support both rural and urban communities to roll out small and medium scale renewable energy projects, providing commercial, technical and project‑planning assistance, increasing their capability and capacity to build a pipeline of successful projects in their local areas.

Renewable projects are subject to planning controls to protect local communities and the environment.

The Warm Homes Plan will offer grants and low interest loans to support investment in insulation, low carbon heating and other home improvements to cut bills across the UK, including in West Dorset. We will partner with combined authorities and local and devolved governments to roll out this plan.

The Boiler Upgrade Scheme provides grants to property owners, including to those living off the gas grid, to enable them to transition away from fossil fuel to low carbon heating.

Support for boosting energy efficiency in off-grid homes is also available through the Home Upgrade Grant, Energy Company Obligation and the Great British Insulation scheme. We have also announced a new Warm Homes: Local Grant, with delivery expected in 2025.

Information on the number of homes that have had energy efficiency measures installed in West Dorset constituency from 2013 onwards can be found in the tables accompanying the following scheme statistical releases:

• Energy Company Obligation – Table 4.5
• Great British Insulation Scheme – Table 6
• Green Homes Grant Vouchers Scheme – Table 4.4
• Local Authority Delivery and Home Upgrade Grant – Table 11
• Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF) – Table 7

Prior to 2013, Government support for energy efficiency measures was provided via the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target and Community Energy Saving Programme.

As part of our clean power mission, we will work with the private sector to radically increase the deployment of onshore wind, solar and offshore wind by 2030. We will invest in carbon capture and storage, hydrogen and marine energy, and ensure we have the long-term energy storage required.

This will significantly increase the number of homes powered by clean energy across the country, including in West Dorset. Steps we have taken include the immediate removal of the de facto ban on onshore wind in England, establishing an Onshore Wind Industry Taskforce, the re-establishment of the Solar Taskforce, and securing 131 new projects through the AR6 auction.

Poor internet access can have a devastating impact on rural and urban communities alike, which is why the government is determined to improve access and tackle digital exclusion. Digital connectivity is an important driver of economic growth. In 2022, productivity in rural areas was 86% of the average for England, a gap which improved internet access could reduce.

The Government is committed to improving broadband access in rural areas. Government’s £5 billion programme, Project Gigabit, is delivering gigabit capable connectivity for millions of rural homes.

Government is committed to achieving nationwide gigabit broadband, removing barriers to commercial deployment and, where necessary, providing subsidy for hard-to-reach premises through Project Gigabit. According to the independent website ThinkBroadband, 85% of UK premises have access to gigabit-capable connections.

Government wants rural areas to benefit from mobile connectivity. The Shared Rural Network is improving coverage in rural areas, with 94.9% of the UK landmass having 4G coverage from at least one operator.

Our ambition is for all populated areas to have high-quality standalone 5G by 2030. We are committed to having the right policy and regulatory framework to support this.

I am aware that people’s experience on the ground does not always match Ofcom’s version of mobile signal, and I recently wrote to Ofcom, asking them to set out steps to improve their reporting.