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 recent impact of energy costs on businesses in the hospitality sector; and if he will make it his policy to provide additional financial support to those businesses for those purposes.

Businesses, including the Hospitality sector, have already benefitted from the Energy Bill Relief Scheme (EBRS) which ended on 31 March and has provided £7 billion of support at around £35 million a day. Businesses will continue to get a discount on gas and electricity bills under the new Energy Bills Discount Scheme (EBDS), from 1 April 2023 until 31 March 2024.

The HM Treasury-led review of the EBRS took account of contributions from the private sector, trade associations, the voluntary sector and other types of organisations, including the Hospitality sector. The outcome of the review informed the criteria used to determine eligibility for the EBDS, which in addition to a baseline level of support, provides a higher level of support for Trade and Energy Intensive Industries identified through an assessment of data from the Department and the Office for National Statistics.