Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what estimate she has made of the number of new businesses that have been established since 2010.

Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

There were some 4.4 million registered business ‘births’ between 2010 and 2022 (the latest year for which data is available).

Source: ONS: Business Demography

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what purchases her Department made of international carbon credits in the most recent five years for which figures are available; and what the average cost per tonne of CO2 was.

Answered by Alan Mak - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade) (jointly with the Cabinet Office)

The Department has not purchased any carbon credits since its inception in February 2023.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many businesses that have employees there were in (a) 2010, (b) 2015, (c) 2020 and (d) the most recent year for which figures are available.

Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

Estimated number of employing businesses in the private sector at the start of 2010, 2015, 2020 and 2023 (the latest year for which data is available) are provided in the table below.

Table: Estimated number of employing businesses in the private sector by year

Source: Business Population Estimates

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people paid class 4 National Insurance contributions in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

The number of people who paid Class 4 National Insurance Contributions is approximately 2.69 million in 2021 to 2022. The estimate accounts for the whole of the UK and is based on the 2021 to 2022 Survey of Personal Incomes (SPI), which is the latest outturn year available.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what was the total value of receipts from Class 4 National Insurance contributions in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

The breakdown of National Insurance contributions (NICs) by class for Great Britain and Northern Ireland is provided by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) in “National Insurance Fund (NIF) Accounts”, available here (in the Notes to the Account):

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-insurance-fund-accounts

The figures for tax year 2023 to 2024 will be published later this year. Note that the breakdown in the NIF accounts does not include the NHS allocation, paid over by HMRC to the NHS, though information on this allocation is included in the NIF Accounts.

Information on NICs can also be found in the “HMRC tax receipts and National Insurance contributions for the UK” statistical bulletin, available here:

HMRC tax receipts and National Insurance contributions for the UK - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

These include figures for NICs received through Self Assessment (including both Class 2 and Class 4). Receipts for 2023-24 are now available, but are provisional and will be updated later this year.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how much (a) private sector investment and (b) public sector funding there has been for (i) onshore wind, (ii) offshore wind and (iii) solar power in each financial year since 2009-10.

Answered by Andrew Bowie - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Based on data from BloombergNEF, total investment into UK offshore wind, onshore wind and solar PV was £143bn over 2009-2023 (converted to real 2023 prices, nearest £bn). For these technologies, a record £19bn was in 2023, helping the renewable share of total UK electricity generation increase from 7% in 2010 to nearly 50% in 2023.

In the UK, renewables receive levy-funded support through legacy schemes (Renewables Obligation [RO] and Feed-in Tariffs [FiTs]), and our Contracts for Difference (CfD) mechanism. The OBR regularly publish estimates of levy spend for the prior financial year across the RO and CfD schemes, and Ofgem publishes estimates for FiTs, aggregated for all renewables. For the CfD scheme only, the LCCC publish data at a technology and plant level.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what information her Department holds on the year in which the highest level of private sector investment into renewable sources of power generation was recorded.

Answered by Andrew Bowie - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Based on data from BloombergNEF, total investment into UK offshore wind, onshore wind and solar PV was £143bn over 2009-2023 (converted to real 2023 prices, nearest £bn). For these technologies, a record £19bn was in 2023, helping the renewable share of total UK electricity generation increase from 7% in 2010 to nearly 50% in 2023.

In the UK, renewables receive levy-funded support through legacy schemes (Renewables Obligation [RO] and Feed-in Tariffs [FiTs]), and our Contracts for Difference (CfD) mechanism. The OBR regularly publish estimates of levy spend for the prior financial year across the RO and CfD schemes, and Ofgem publishes estimates for FiTs, aggregated for all renewables. For the CfD scheme only, the LCCC publish data at a technology and plant level.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent estimate he has made of the revenue that will be raised by the Energy Profits Levy by March 2029.

Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will make an estimate of the proportion of total energy demand will be met by (a) oil, (b) gas and (c) nuclear in (i) 2025, (ii) 2030, (iii) 2035, (iv) 2040, (v) 2045 and (vi) 2050.

Answered by Andrew Bowie - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The table below sets out shares for oil, gas and nuclear consistent with a pathway to meeting the UK’s 6th Carbon Budget.

Beyond 2035, oil and gas use will need to continue to decline but will remain an important part of the energy mix and even when reaching net zero in 2050 oil and gas (combined) could still provide around a quarter of the UK's energy needs. The Government has set out an ambition for nuclear energy to provide up to around a quarter of the UK’s electricity needs by 2050 which would represent around 12% of expected total energy demand.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what volume of gas was imported into the UK as liquefied natural gas in each of the last 20 years.

Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

UK gas demand and imports of gas into the UK as liquified natural gas (LNG) in each of the last 20 years are published in Energy Trends Table 4.1.

LNG imports as a proportion of gas demand for each of the last 20 years can be derived from these data. Caution should be taken when inferring that imported LNG met demand due to the interconnected nature of gas pipeline infrastructure (e.g. LNG would be mixed with other gas in the network some of which is then exported).

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what proportion of gas demand was met by imports of liquefied natural gas in each of the last 20 years.

Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

UK gas demand and imports of gas into the UK as liquified natural gas (LNG) in each of the last 20 years are published in Energy Trends Table 4.1.

LNG imports as a proportion of gas demand for each of the last 20 years can be derived from these data. Caution should be taken when inferring that imported LNG met demand due to the interconnected nature of gas pipeline infrastructure (e.g. LNG would be mixed with other gas in the network some of which is then exported).

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what estimate she has made of the levelised cost of electricity from hydrogen fired power stations that are due to be commissioned before 2030.

Answered by Andrew Bowie - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Electricity generation costs 2023 report published by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero sets out the assumptions for a hydrogen-fired Combined Cycle Hydrogen Turbine (CCHT) power plant commissioned between 2025-2030. The cost of the electricity was stated as £111/MWh for a baseload CCHT commissioning in 2025 and £108/MWh for 2030.

Hydrogen to Power is an emerging technology and as such all figures are subject to change. We will continue to monitor and update cost estimates based on new evidence as it becomes available. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/electricity-generation-costs-2023.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent estimate she has made of what (a) peak and (b) total electricity demand will be in (i) 2025, (ii) 2030, (iii) 2035, (iv) 2040, (v) 2045 and (vi) 2050.

Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Total demand and peak demand figures corresponding to the latest scenarios published in Annex O of the Energy and Emission Projections^[1] are:

[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/energy-and-emissions-projections-2021-to-2040

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what volume of gas was imported from Russia in 2023.

Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

In 2023, the UK did not import any gas from Russia. The last import of gas from Russia to the UK was in March 2022 (Energy Trends Table 4.4).

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will make an estimate of the number of kilometres of transmission network that will be added to the electricity grid in the (a) 2020s, (b) 2030s and (c) 2040s.

Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Department does not estimate the future size of the transmission network. The Electricity System Operator, along with Transmission Operators and Ofgem, is responsible for the development of the network. The ESO is required to publish annual recommendations for which transmission network reinforcement projects should receive investment, but this does not include data on the length of projects. The latest recommendations, published in the 'Beyond 2030' report, cover network needs up to the mid-2030s. The report is available on the ESO's website.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many kilometres of transmission network were added to the electricity grid in the period (a) between 1994 and 1999, (b) between 2000 and 2009, (c) between 2010 and 2019 and (d) since 2019.

Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Department does not hold historic data of annual transmission network build. As stated in the Electricity Networks Strategic Framework, in 2021 there were approximately 20,000km of onshore high voltage transmission cables in the UK.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will make an estimate of the number and proportion of homes that have an electricity smart meter.

Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

Quarterly statistics on the rollout of smart meters in Great Britain, covering both gas and electricity smart meters installed, are available online: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/smart-meters-statistics.

This includes information about the number and proportion of electricity smart meters.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what purchases her Department made of international carbon credits in the most recent five years for which figures are available; and what the average cost per tonne of CO2 was.

Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

DESNZ compensates for emissions associated with the flights taken by Ministers and their support staff by purchasing high quality international carbon credits, annually and in arrears.

The Department is close to finalising its first purchase of international carbon credits in respect of emissions from the Department’s creation to the end of last year.

In 2022, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) purchased 151 carbon credits to compensate for the emissions associated with flights taken in 2021 by BEIS Ministers and their support staff. This was at a cost of £1,394.89, making the cost per tonne £9.24.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will make an estimate of the number of small and medium-sized businesses in (a) 2010, (b) 2015, (c) 2020 and (d) the most recent year for which figures are available.

Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

Estimated number of private sector small and medium-sized businesses at the start of 2010, 2015, 2020 and 2023 (the latest year for which data is available) are provided in the table below.

Table: Estimated number of private sector small and medium-sized business by year

Source: Business Population Estimates

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how (a) much finance was and (b) many loans were provided to businesses by the British Business Bank; and how many and what proportion of these loans were provided to small businesses.

Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

At 2022/23 the British Business Bank was supporting £12.4bn of finance to 90,201 small businesses across the UK through the Bank’s 220 delivery partners. Finance supported by the Bank is intended for small and medium businesses, as defined in the Companies Act.

Found: Selaine Saxby (Conservative, North Devon) (added 2 Mar 2020) 15 of 17 (88.2%) Dr Ben Spencer (

Found: Q31 Selaine Saxby: The Back to Work Plan includes an expansion of Government employment support for

Found: Saxby; Cat Smith; Julian Sturdy; Derek Thomas.

Found: meeting Members present: Sir Stephen Timms (Chair); Debbie Abrahams; Siobhan Baillie; Nigel Mills; Selaine

Found: Saxby; Derek Thomas.

Found: , Easington) • Gavin Newlands MP (Scottish National Party , Paisley and Renfrewshire North ) • Selaine

Found: _NC10 Bob Blackman Nickie Aiken Tracey Crouch Layla Moran Paula Barker Selaine Saxby Stephen

Found: _NC10 Bob Blackman Nickie Aiken Tracey Crouch Layla Moran Paula Barker Selaine Saxby Stephen

Found: _NC10 Bob Blackman Nickie Aiken Tracey Crouch Layla Moran Paula Barker Selaine Saxby Stephen

Found: _NC10 Bob Blackman Nickie Aiken Tracey Crouch Layla Moran Paula Barker Selaine Saxby Stephen

Found: _NC10 Bob Blackman Nickie Aiken Tracey Crouch Layla Moran Paula Barker Selaine Saxby Stephen

Found: Saxby Simon Jupp Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown [R] Craig Mackinlay Mr David Jones Sir Graham