Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reason trade intensity was determined as one of the two key criteria for eligibility for enhanced energy support; and when that decision was communicated to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.

Under the Energy Bills Discount Scheme, eligibility for Energy and Trade Intensive Industries (ETIIs) support is based on energy and trade intensity. These firms, predominately in manufacturing industries, are often less able to pass through cost to their customers due to international competition.

The firms eligible for ETIIs scheme are those operating within sectors that fall above the 80th percentile for energy intensity and 60th percentile for trade intensity, and those within sectors eligible for the existing Energy Intensive Industries compensations and exemption schemes.

Government departments are in regular contact on a range of issues, including energy, and were engaged throughout the Energy Bill Relief Scheme review process.