Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to help convenience stores with (a) rising energy costs, and (b) rising food costs.

We understand that businesses including convenience stores are facing cost pressures such as high energy and commodity prices, which are impacted by global factors.

The Government engages in regular dialogue with a wide range of Business Representative Organisations (BROs) across the UK and will continue to do so. BRO feedback is valuable in understanding the wider economic landscape and to inform and evaluate ongoing policy making. BRO reportage has provided important insights in the context of the various business support measures the Government has announced.

For the retail sector this includes:

• The Recovery Loan Scheme, which has been extended to 30 June 2022, providing businesses with up to £2 million of government guaranteed finance.
• Cutting business rates by 50% for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure businesses in 2022-23, worth up to £110,00 per business.
• Increasing the Employment Allowance from £4,000 to £5,000, cutting the cost of employment for 495,000 small businesses.
• Businesses will also benefit from the cut to fuel duty announced by the Chancellor as part of his Spring Statement. The duty rate on petrol and diesel has been cut by 5p per litre until March 2023.

The Government is in regular contact with business groups about the challenges businesses are facing and we will continue to keep the situation under review. The Government is always open to hearing from businesses on the issues they are facing.