Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to help small and medium sized businesses with energy costs in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire.

The Government believes the only way to protect billpayers in Lincolnshire permanently, including businesses and non-domestic organisations, is to speed up the transition away from fossil fuels and towards homegrown clean energy. The Government recently published the Clean Power 2030 Action Plan which details our approach to boosting our energy security, creating good jobs, protecting consumers and tackling climate change.

The Government recently launched a consultation on regulating Third-Party Intermediaries, such as energy brokers, in the retail energy market which closed on 15 November, aimed at enhancing consumer protection, particularly for non-domestic customers. A government response will follow in due course once we have reviewed the feedback received.

On 19 December last year, the Government also expanded the remit of the Energy Ombudsman services so that small business consumers with fewer than 50 employees can resolve issues with their supplier through this service. This expands the level of support to 99% of businesses in Great Britain. In September we also launched a public consultation on regulating Third Party Intermediaries for non-domestic consumers, seeking views on different potential regulatory options for this market.