Asked by: Gareth Snell (Labour (Co-op) - Stoke-on-Trent Central)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, how many valid Energy Intensive Industry certificates are currently active under the British Industry Supercharger scheme.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department does not routinely publish the number of Energy Intensive Industry Exemption certificates in circulation. The number of active certificates is higher than the number of businesses in receipt of support as some businesses request separate certificates for individual sites or separate meters. As of October, there are approximately 610 businesses receiving support through the Supercharger scheme.
Asked by: Gareth Snell (Labour (Co-op) - Stoke-on-Trent Central)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what estimate his Department has made of the average annual cost reduction per site under the British Industry Supercharger scheme.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department does not consider the per site reduction for each business. However, the Supercharger measures are estimated to reduce eligible businesses’ electricity costs by around £65-£87/MWh, helping to narrow the gap with international competitors and reduce the risk of carbon leakage.
Asked by: Gareth Snell (Labour (Co-op) - Stoke-on-Trent Central)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, how many businesses are currently receiving support from the British Industry Supercharger in the steel sector.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department does not publish the number of businesses receiving support through the British Industry Supercharger by eligible activity. Businesses operating under NACE code 24.10, which covers the manufacture of steel, basic iron and ferro-alloys, are eligible to receive support where the relevant scheme criteria are met.
Asked by: Gareth Snell (Labour (Co-op) - Stoke-on-Trent Central)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, whether rules prevent double-counting and dual compensation across British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme and the British Industry Supercharger.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The British Industry Supercharger and the British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme may both support the same business. However, support cannot be claimed under both schemes for the same activity and associated electricity use.
Asked by: Gareth Snell (Labour (Co-op) - Stoke-on-Trent Central)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, how many companies lost Supercharger eligibility due to changes in their electricity intensity ratio over the past 12 months.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department does not publish information on the number of businesses that have been found ineligible for the scheme or have subsequently ceased to be eligible for the scheme, or the reasons for their ineligibility. This information would be commercially sensitive, and published information only reflects businesses that are eligible for support through the British Industry Supercharger scheme.
Asked by: Gareth Snell (Labour (Co-op) - Stoke-on-Trent Central)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what total value of Network Charging Costs compensation has been paid out under the Supercharger scheme to date.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
To date, the Network Charging Compensation Scheme has provided support relating to eligible Network Charging Costs incurred between April 2024 and April 2026. The published estimated value of this support is approximately £492.3 million. This figure includes applications awaiting approval and may therefore change following corrections or the resolution of disputes.
Asked by: Gareth Snell (Labour (Co-op) - Stoke-on-Trent Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans she has to use new technologies to improve patient care.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government’s plans for using new technologies to improve patient care are set out in Chapter 8, titled Powering transformation: innovation to drive healthcare reform, of the Fit for the Future: 10-Year Health Plan for England, which is available at the following link:
The chapter sets out five “big bets” for technological innovation: data to deliver impact; artificial intelligence to drive productivity; genomics and predictive analysis; wearables to make care ‘real time’; and robotics to support precision.
It also sets out how effective new technologies will be assessed, funded, and adopted more consistently across the National Health Service.
Asked by: Gareth Snell (Labour (Co-op) - Stoke-on-Trent Central)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of BICS on business investment decisions in key foundation sectors.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme is expected to support investment in eligible sectors by cutting electricity costs by up to £35–£40 per Megawatt-hour, improving competitiveness and reducing the risk of plant closure and relocation. Higher investment is expected to raise productivity and economic growth through capital deepening and sector expansion.
BICS will also support economic resilience and supply chain security by reducing the vulnerability of strategically important foundational manufacturing sectors to relatively high electricity costs.
The BICS Impact Assessment estimates that across sectors eligible for BICS, there will be social benefits relating to investment of around £16bn over the 8-year period (2027/28 – 2034/35).
Asked by: Gareth Snell (Labour (Co-op) - Stoke-on-Trent Central)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to ensure BICS compliance with international subsidy control regimes.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme support has been developed and assessed in accordance with the requirements of the Subsidy Control Act 2022, which implements the UK's subsidy control commitments under the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement and gives effect to the UK's wider international obligations on subsidy control, including under the WTO Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures.
Asked by: Gareth Snell (Labour (Co-op) - Stoke-on-Trent Central)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what timeline his Department has published for issuing formal BICS qualification certificates.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department has not made a formal assessment of the average processing time for assessing applications to the British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme. Processing time will depend on the individual circumstances of each case.
Businesses that apply during the application window, which runs from 1 October to 30 November 2026, are expected to receive eligibility decisions in early 2027.