Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent steps he has taken to help reduce industrial energy costs for businesses in Newcastle-under-Lyme.

Our Modern Industrial Strategy will make industrial electricity costs cheaper with new support which could cut bills by up to 25% for more than 7,000 businesses. From 2027, the British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme will reduce electricity cost for eligible businesses by c.£35-40/MWh.

We have also increased support for energy-intensive industries eligible for the British Industry Supercharger, with an uplift of the Network Charging Compensation (NCC) scheme from 60% to 90%.

Companies in Newcastle-under-Lyme operating in frontier industries, or those supplying critical inputs to frontier industries such as specialised ceramics, are well placed to benefit from this support.