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Adoption of new digital technology, including AI, can help businesses become more productive – but we know Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) sometimes need additional help and support to do so.

The AI Opportunities Action Plan set out a vision for AI to drive economic growth, including through investment. InnovateUK’s BridgeAI programme helps businesses in high growth potential sectors harness AI, offering funding opportunities and expert advice.

To go further, the industry-led SME Digital Adoption Taskforce will soon be publishing their final recommendations on ways to help SMEs adopt productivity-enhancing digital technology, which will inform our upcoming SME Strategy.

Adoption of technologies like cybersecurity is important to protect businesses and increase productivity.

The National Cyber Security Centre publishes a range of expert guidance, including the Small Business Guide, which contains practical and affordable advice for businesses to improve their cybersecurity. Small businesses can also benefit from advice and support from the regional Cyber Resilience Centres across England and Wales, which are a police-led collaboration with government, private sector and academia.

The industry-led SME Digital Adoption Taskforce will soon publish recommendations on ways to increase SME adoption of digital technology like cybersecurity software. These will inform our upcoming SME Strategy.

Businesses can access complementary, comprehensive support services from both the Department for Business and Trade and the Welsh Government. We work closely with Welsh Government counterparts to improve trading conditions. My department will host a flagship export roadshow in Cardiff on 13 June, focused on the technology sector to help businesses grow.

Our landmark deals with the United States and India will improve Welsh business access to important markets. Our new agreement with the European Union will support businesses, backing British jobs. Welsh businesses will benefit significantly from this deal, given 61% of all Welsh goods exports went to EU destinations in 2024.

We continue to work closely with the Welsh Government to monitor the impacts, and to support Welsh exporters. Additionally on 3 April, we launched a Request for Input from businesses, to help inform the UK’s response to US tariffs.

We continue to support businesses of all sizes to grow and export globally, including to the US. Through Great.gov.uk, businesses can access export support programmes including the Export Academy, International Markets Network, Growth Hubs and Help to Grow: Management scheme.

We know that this is a concerning time for automotive businesses in Wales. Last year, Wales exported £89 million worth of road vehicles to the US, which accounted for 14% of its total road vehicle exports. That is why the government has been focused on negotiating an economic deal with the US, and we remain committed to these discussions.

We are resolute in our support for industry across the whole of the UK, and we will continue to engage with businesses to assess and understand the impact of these tariffs. In addition, on 3 April the government launched a Request for Input from businesses to help inform the UK's response to US tariffs.

My Department continues to engage closely with the industries affected by the US’ tariffs on steel and aluminium, and to assess the potential impact on the steel industry in Wales and across the UK.

We are resolute in our support for the UK steel and aluminium industry, which is vital to the UK economy. We have committed up to £2.5 billion to rebuild the steel sector and our upcoming Steel Strategy will be published in the Spring. We will continue to make the case for the UK to be exempted from these tariffs.

I refer the Hon. Member for Ynys Môn to my response to Question 12968 on 12th November 2024.

As part of the Government's responsible approach to policy and decision-making, we have considered the merits of nationalising British Steel and made an estimate of the cost. That estimate is confidential for commercial reasons. However, the Government has no plans to nationalise British Steel.

We are developing a steel strategy, working in partnership with trade unions and industry to grow the steel sector in the UK. This government has identified up to £2.5bn (on top of the £500mn secured for Port Talbot) to support the steel industry.

As part of the Government's responsible approach to policy and decision-making, we have considered the merits of nationalising British Steel and made an estimate of the cost. That estimate is confidential for commercial reasons. However, the Government has no plans to nationalise British Steel.

We are developing a steel strategy, working in partnership with trade unions and industry to grow the steel sector in the UK. This government has identified up to £2.5bn (on top of the £500mn secured for Port Talbot) to support the steel industry.

The Government launched a consultation on 18 November to explore alternative clean heating solutions that may play a role in some homes, including renewable liquid fuels (RLFs) such as hydrotreated vegetable oil.

The consultation will run until 10 February.

While we do not have a specific assessment for Wales, evidence shows heat pumps will work well in most off-gas grid homes.

A home’s suitability to install a heat pump depends on several factors, including having sufficient internal and external space (for the heat pump unit, thermal store and larger radiators), the peak current draw of the grid connection, and the home’s peak heat loss.

We have commissioned research on the costs of different approaches to decarbonising complex housing archetypes, including alternative low carbon heating solutions where required, and we expect to receive results in Spring 2026.

The total megawatt deployment capacity for fixed bottom offshore wind in Wales is 775 megawatts and 100 megawatts for floating offshore wind. These projects represent the first successful developments in Wales in over a decade.

Estimated Energy Company Obligation (ECO) costs for Great Britain can be found in Table 5.1 of the latest Household Energy Efficiency Statistics Release. Figures for Wales are not available.

The number of unique households in Wales receiving measures under each Energy Company Obligation (ECO) phase between January 2013 and September 2025 is shown in the table below. Each property is counted when receiving an ECO measure for the first time under each phase. The total of 140,439 homes is lower than the sum of the phases as it shows the unique number of households receiving measures across the scheme.

These data have been derived from the Household Energy Efficiency statistics publication where further details on the measures delivered can be found.

Summary table

To ensure the bill savings from the transition to clean energy technologies are felt in all parts of the country, the different needs and approaches of the Devolved Governments will need to be recognised. The UK Government will continue to work closely with the Welsh Government and will publish the Warm Homes Plan soon.

The Minister has been engaging with his Ministerial counterparts in the Welsh government regarding the Warm Homes Plan.

To ensure the bill savings from the transition to clean energy technologies are felt in all parts of the country, the different needs and approaches of the Devolved Governments will need to be recognised. The UK Government will continue to work closely with the Welsh Government and will publish the Warm Homes Plan soon.

Calculating Barnett consequentials of the Government's spending commitments is the responsibility of HM Treasury.

At almost £15 billion, the Warm Homes Plan is the single biggest public investment programme in energy efficiency in UK history. The Treasury has not yet confirmed the total Barnett consequential nor the specific appointment for Wales. More details on the Warm Homes Plan will be published soon.

As issues of energy efficiency, fuel poverty and heat are largely devolved Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have specific Net Zero strategies. We work closely with our counterparts in the Devolved Governments to ensure our strategies align.

The Welsh Government will administer the additional funding provided by Great British Energy. This will fund solar panels for schools, leisure centres and museums across Wales, as well as supporting a new scheme which will help public sector and communities complete projects such as solar canopies and battery energy storage.

The Warm Homes Plan, which will be published soon will lower bills, strengthen our energy security, and reduce emissions by accelerating the installation of efficient new technologies like heat pumps, heat networks, solar, home batteries and insulation.

The Plan represents the biggest ever public investment in home upgrades. At the Autumn Budget on 26 November, the Chancellor announced an additional £1.5 billion of funding for the Warm Homes Plan, bringing total capital investment to almost £15 billion.

The Government has consulted on the proposed changes to how Feed-in Tariff payments are adjusted for inflation. The consultation included an analytical annex setting out the assessment of the potential impacts of the policy. An updated version of this will be published alongside a Government Response, next year.

It is a commercial decision for suppliers as to how they choose to set export tariffs, and whether to treat domestic and business customers differently for the purpose of tariffs offered under the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG). Most suppliers offer SEG tariffs that are available to both domestic and business customers, but some do provide distinct tariff offerings.

Details of the tariffs can be found in Ofgem’s SEG annual report. The latest report can be found at the SEG Smart Export Guarantee Annual Report - April 2024 to March 2025 | Ofgem

The Government has not made such an assessment specific to North Wales. Levels of standing charges in the non-domestic market are a commercial decision for suppliers and are not regulated by Ofgem as they are in the domestic market.

Standing charges predominantly recover ‘fixed’ costs that do not vary by energy use. This includes supplier’s operational costs for serving each customer and the cost of essential network maintenance and upgrades, which are necessary to keep all consumers connected, minimise constraint costs, meet the capacity needed to deliver clean power by 2030, and help bring down bills for households and businesses for good.

We know that too much of the burden of the bill is placed on standing charges, and we are committed to ensuring that standing charges are fair to all consumers.

As part of this, Ofgem have launched a Cost Allocation and Recovery Review to consider how energy system costs can be recovered from consumers in a fairer and more efficient way and government will continue to engage closely with Ofgem on the work.

Both sites had grid connections being realised before 2030, so are already accounted for in NESO’s planning.

Great British Energy – Nuclear purchased the sites at Wylfa and Oldbury in 2024. As sites which have previously hosted a nuclear power station, both have positive attributes for new nuclear. No decisions have yet been taken on any projects to be deployed at either site. Our plans will be set out in due course

Data for electricity generated in Wales, England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, by fuel, is published in Energy Trends: December 2024, special feature article - Electricity generation and supply in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and England, 2019 to 2023 - GOV.UK. Data for 2024 will be published on 18^th December 2025.

Data for electricity generated in Wales, England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, by fuel, is published in Energy Trends: December 2024, special feature article - Electricity generation and supply in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and England, 2019 to 2023 - GOV.UK. Data for 2024 will be published on 18^th December 2025.

The Government commissioned an independent statistical audit in April 2025. Two random samples of audits of external (EWI) and internal wall installations (IWI), across the household populations of both schemes were commissioned to understand non‑compliance rates. 98% of EWI audits need to be remediated. For IWI, that number is 29%.

The samples are not large enough to reliably perform any regional analysis. As we continue with further audits, we will seek to begin to collect this data.

The remediation costs sit with the original installer and we have been clear that no household should be asked to pay any money to put things right. We expect most remediation for solid wall insulation installed under ECO4 or GBIS to cost between £250 and £6,000 for IWI and £5,000 and £18,000 for EWI. This should be covered by the guarantee should the installer no longer be trading.

New nuclear projects are expected to create thousands of high-quality jobs across the UK, with the industry-led 2024 Nuclear Workforce Assessment estimating the need for an additional 24,000 employees across civil and defence by the early 2030s.¹ The Department is working with the Nuclear Industry Association as part of the Nuclear Skills Plan, a collaborative effort between government, industry and academia to address the sector’s workforce needs.

EDF’s Hinkley Point C Socio-economic Impact Report 2025 [1] states that the project has supported 26,000 direct and indirect jobs across Britain, with around 4,500 people from Somerset working at Hinkley Point C. Further, the Report states 64% of the value of the project is going to British businesses with over £5 billion already being spent with suppliers across the South- West region.

[1] https://www.edfenergy.com/energy/nuclear-new-build-projects/hinkley-point-c/realising-socio-economic-benefits

My Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State has regular discussions with Ministerial Colleagues on a number of issues.

New nuclear projects are expected to create thousands of high-quality jobs across the UK. The annual industry-led 2024 Nuclear Workforce Assessment (NWA), published by Cogent Skills, estimates the civil and defence nuclear sector could grow by an additional 24,000 employees by the early 2030s. The Department is working with the Nuclear Industry Association as part of the Nuclear Skills Plan, a collaborative effort between government, industry and academia to address the sector’s workforce needs.

In 2024, Great British Energy – Nuclear acquired the site at Wylfa in 2024, which has previously hosted a nuclear power plant and has positive attributes for new nuclear.

No decisions have yet been taken on any projects to be deployed at Wylfa. Our plans will be set out in due course.

The government values nuclear energy’s important role in delivering energy security and homegrown clean power while generating investment and supporting thousands of skilled jobs in communities across the country.

Government recently consulted on increasing minimum energy efficiency standards in the domestic private rented sector. The consultation closed on 2^nd May and was accompanied by a consultation-stage options assessment. We have engaged widely with stakeholders during the consultation process and a government response with a further impact assessment will be published in due course.

DESNZ do not produce their own figures on the number of jobs within the civil nuclear sector. The industry-led Nuclear Workforce Assessment (NWA) (produced annually by Cogent Skills) does contain data on the number of civil nuclear jobs across Wales, England and Scotland but not Northern Ireland. New nuclear projects are expected to create thousands of high-quality jobs across the UK, with the 2024 NWA estimating the need for an additional 24,000 employees by the early 2030s.

In the recently published Solar Roadmap, we set out our expectation that the solar industry could support up to 35,000 UK jobs in 2030. No estimates were made for Anglesey or Wales. Our assessment is that solar will not pose a threat to food security, whilst any Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project development will be required to undergo detailed environmental and other statutory impact assessment

A new nuclear project at any location would help create skilled, high-value jobs although no decisions have yet been taken on any nuclear project to be deployed at the Wylfa site.

Yes, in the meantime I am covering nuclear as part of my portfolio. The appointment of Ministers is a matter for my Rt hon Friend the Prime Minister.

Solar power is at the heart of our clean power mission. It is clean, cheap, and reliable.

All projects are subject to a rigorous planning process, in which the views and interests of local communities are considered.