Oral Answers to Questions

Bill Esterson Excerpts

Thursday 11th December 2025 Commons Chamber

[Kate Dearden]

Our product safety laws do require products supplied in the UK to be safe, whether they are sold online or on the high street. As I have mentioned, our Product Regulation and Metrology Act, which received Royal Assent earlier this year, gives us powers to update product safety laws where necessary to adapt to those new technologies and emerging product risks.

[Bill Esterson (Sefton Central) (Lab)]

5. What steps his Department is taking to support businesses with energy costs.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business and Trade (Chris McDonald)]

My hon. Friend, through his chairmanship of the Energy Security and Net Zero Committee, is working very hard to highlight the issues of business competitiveness and energy costs to businesses. I would draw his attention to the British industrial competitiveness scheme consultation, which I launched a couple of weeks ago, which is our commitment through the industrial strategy to reduce energy costs for over 7,000 manufacturing businesses by around £40 per megawatt-hour from 2027. I encourage all Members to ensure that manufacturing businesses in their constituencies respond to that consultation.

[Bill Esterson]

Reducing costs by £40 per megawatt-hour for 7,000 manufacturing businesses is welcome, as is the news in the Budget of changes to the British industry supercharger scheme. However, there are tens—if not hundreds—of thousands of other manufacturing businesses facing some of the highest electricity prices in Europe, which has been the case for many years. What is the plan to help the businesses facing very high bills right now while we wait for lower electricity bills in the longer term through Government plans for clean power?

[Chris McDonald]

My hon. Friend is right. Alongside the British industrial competitiveness scheme, we have also committed to increasing network charges compensation from 60% to 90% under the network charging compensation scheme. We are also reviewing our energy intensive industries compensation scheme. He is right to recognise the lack of competitiveness on energy prices between the UK and the rest of Europe—a terrible situation that was bequeathed to us by the previous Conservative Government and their ideological adherence to relying on foreign dictators such as Putin for Britain’s energy needs. We are investing in our future energy needs to ensure that they are clean, cheap and secure.