Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 29 December 2022 to Question 105568 on Manufacturing Industries: Energy, when he plans to publish the review of the Energy Bill Relief Scheme; and what plans he has to provide further support.

On 9 January, the government announced that it would be launching a new energy support scheme for businesses, charities and the public sector. This will help those locked into contracts signed before recent substantial falls in the wholesale price manage their costs and provide others with reassurance against the risk of prices rising again.

The new Energy Bills Discount Scheme will provide all eligible businesses and other non-domestic energy users across the UK with a discount on high energy bills until 31 March 2024, following the end of the current Energy Bill Relief Scheme.

It will also provide businesses in sectors with particularly high levels of energy use and trade intensity with a higher level of support.

The new scheme strikes a balance between supporting businesses for a further 12 months, from April 2023 to March 2024, and limiting taxpayer’s exposure to volatile energy markets, with a cap set at £5.5 billion. This provides long term certainty for businesses and reflects how the scale of the challenge has changed since September last year.

Further information on the scheme can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/energy-bills-discount-scheme