Energy Update

Stephen Farry Excerpts

Monday 5th September 2022 Commons Chamber

[Greg Hands]

I thank the hon. Lady for that question. I have already said how well aware we all are of the increase in costs for businesses, but I think she paints an unhappy picture that goes beyond the reality of what businesses are facing in this country. If we consider the amount of support that the Government gave during the pandemic, and the level of employment in this country, including a record high in payroll employment, we see some really good economic figures coming out of that. Of course, we recognise that businesses are facing those big increases in energy costs, which is why I expect announcements to be forthcoming quite soon.

[Stephen Farry (North Down) (Alliance)]

I am grateful to the Minister for his update on the £400 payment to households in Northern Ireland. Of course, if we had had an Executive going back as far as February, we could have done that ourselves. As he knows, the Northern Ireland energy market and system is very different from that in Great Britain, so in the event that the next phase of Government support has large elements that apply only to Great Britain, but with large Barnett consequentials for Northern Ireland, what contingency steps are the Government taking to ensure that, in the absence of a functioning devolved Executive, businesses and households in Northern Ireland have the same access to support as their counterparts in Great Britain?

[Greg Hands]

The Chancellor of the Exchequer convened the Northern Ireland taskforce with the specific objective of making sure that Northern Ireland does not miss out on UK Government support for consumers and businesses in future. I cannot give the hon. Gentleman more of an update than that, but it is a strong area of Government action to ensure that Northern Ireland, quite properly, is treated as part of the UK when it comes to all these matters, including, especially, Her Majesty’s Government support for consumers and businesses.