Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards on the availability of affordable commercial rental space for start-ups.

The Government has not identified evidence that Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards have reduced the availability of affordable commercial rental space for start-ups.

The department’s Impact Assessment has shown that costs for building improvements would be expected to make up a small proportion of typical commercial rents and are therefore unlikely to distort rental pricing on their own. The cost effectiveness test within the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards regulations means that an energy efficiency improvement must be implemented only where it is estimated that the energy bill savings over 7 years are greater than the cost of installing the measure. This is designed to ensure all measures installed are good value for money.