Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of energy costs on the survival of high-street independent retailers.

Through our Clean Power 2030 mission we are taking action to accelerate the transition to clean, homegrown electricity helping to improve energy security and reduce exposure to the volatility of fossil fuel prices across of the UK economy. Alongside this, the government is considering and intends to consult stakeholders on a range of options to address the relative cost of electricity for non‑domestic users and to support the wider take‑up of low‑carbon heat.

We have introduced permanently lower business‑rates multipliers for retail, hospitality and leisure properties, worth nearly £900 million a year and benefiting over 750,000 premises and introduced a £4.3 billion transitional support package to protect ratepayers from large overnight increases. Later this year, we will bring forward a new High Streets Strategy, to help reinvigorate our communities. These measures will provide meaningful, long-term support to independent retailers at the heart of their communities.