Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent discussions he has had with the Energy Ombudsman regarding the volume of business energy complaints.

The Secretary of State meets regularly with a wide range of stakeholders, where they discuss a variety of issues.

Small businesses have been able to access the Energy Ombudsman since December 2024. Ofgem’s Complaints Handling Standards require energy suppliers to have suitable complaints processes for small business consumers and to signpost the Energy Ombudsman when matters have not been resolved.

To further ensure that consumers are protected when things go wrong, we are proposing to strengthen the position of the Energy Ombudsman. This will allow consumers to have access to fairer and faster redress and will ensure that decisions made by the Ombudsman are implemented on time and in full.