Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of consumer protection legislation in relation to theatre ticket purchases where a production is advertised using the name, image and profile of a specific performer; and if he will take steps to ensure that consumers are entitled to (a) advance notification, (b) refunds and (c) compensation where that performer is unable to appear.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
Consumers are protected by a strong framework of consumer legislation. Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, services must be provided as described and consumers may be entitled to remedies where this is not the case. Whether consumers are entitled to advance notification, or other remedies will depend on the circumstances, for example how the performance was advertised.
Consumers can seek free information on their rights through the Citizens Advice consumer service on 0808 223 1133 or through its website.
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, how much of the £2.5 billion Steel Fund has been spent within Wales to date.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is providing up to £2.5bn to support the UK steel industry, in addition to the £500m grant to Tata Steel in Port Talbot. This is being delivered through a combination of direct support for steel companies and the National Wealth Fund.
The Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade is not running a competitive steel fund and has not sought or received applications from steel companies of this nature. Companies seeking investment can contact the National Wealth Fund.
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, as of August 2026, how much of the £2.5 billion steel fund has been A) spent and/or B) allocated.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is providing up to £2.5bn to support the UK steel industry, in addition to the £500m grant to Tata Steel in Port Talbot. This is being delivered through a combination of direct support for steel companies and the National Wealth Fund.
The Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade is not running a competitive steel fund and has not sought or received applications from steel companies of this nature. Companies seeking investment can contact the National Wealth Fund.
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, how much of the £2.5 billion Steel Fund has been spent on Scunthorpe Steelworks to date.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is providing up to £2.5bn to support the UK steel industry, in addition to the £500m grant to Tata Steel in Port Talbot. This is being delivered through a combination of direct support for steel companies and the National Wealth Fund.
The Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade is not running a competitive steel fund and has not sought or received applications from steel companies of this nature. Companies seeking investment can contact the National Wealth Fund.
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment has been made of the opportunity for the UK to develop domestic hydrogen fuel cell supply chains.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Hydrogen is an Industrial Strategy frontier industry, assessed as one of the sectors with the greatest growth potential over the next decade. As we set out in the Clean Industries Sector Plan, the hydrogen industry will create investment and jobs across the UK’s industrial heartlands, and the UK is well placed to be a global leader in hydrogen supply chains, including for fuel cells.
We are working closely with UK companies to highlight the UK’s strengths, attract investment, support scale‑up, and boost domestic hydrogen production, helping grow fuel cell supply chains both in the UK and overseas.
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department plans to expand the Energy Supercharger package to include a larger proportion of the steel industry and related sectors including scrap.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department for Business and Trade will conduct its review of the British Industry Supercharger this year, which will include a review of eligibility criteria. Any changes to eligibility criteria, or other parts of the policy, are subject to public consultation and ministerial approval. I encourage all stakeholders, including those in the steel and scrap sectors, to engage with this review when the opportunity arises and present all relevant evidence.
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the comparative level of the steel power price gap with competitor nations, following the recent increase in network compensation charging.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As set out in the recently published steel strategy, UK steel producers that benefit from British Industry Supercharger support and the current Network Charging Compensation scheme paid industrial electricity prices of £93 per MWh in 2025 (a 60% relief). The increase in compensation for network charges from 60% to 90%, which was announced in the Industrial Strategy and implemented from 1 April 2026, will reduce electricity prices for steel producers by a further £7 to £10 per MWh approximately.
The equivalent cost faced by industrial electricity users in France and Germany is £69/MWh and £60/MWh respectively. Using average electricity intensity factors for electric arc furnace-based steel production, the difference to UK producers equates to approximately £8-£13 per tonne of crude steel.
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will make it his policy to extend the trade protection measures for steelmakers to their customers in the steel intensive manufacturing supply chain.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
This Government recognises the distinct value of downstream users, including in the manufacturing supply chain, alongside the importance of maintaining a resilient domestic steel sector. The steel trade measure has been designed to addresses the serious threat posed by global steel overcapacity, which undermines the viability of UK steelmaking and, in turn, our critical national infrastructure and defence.
We have carefully balanced the needs of producers and downstream industry, and the product scope of the measure reflects this. There are no current plans to extend this scope, but we will continue to engage with downstream industry as the measure is implemented.
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism on the volume of diverted high-emission steel imports into the UK.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Charges under the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) for relevant goods entering the EU Single Market have applied since January 2026. This includes EU imports of steel goods within scope of EU CBAM.
We are monitoring the EU CBAM and continue to engage with businesses. The EU CBAM may influence trade flows by changing relative costs between markets, with impacts remaining uncertain and dependent on commercial and policy factors.
The UK Government will introduce its own CBAM from January 2027 to protect against carbon leakage.
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that British steel is not undercut by high-emission imports.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As set out in the steel strategy, the government is committed to creating a fair and competitive market for UK steel by addressing carbon leakage.
The Government will introduce the UK Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) from January 2027. The UK CBAM is an environmental measure designed to tackle the risk of carbon leakage by ensuring that some of the most emissions intensive industrial goods imported to the UK face a comparable carbon price to what is paid domestically.
UK CBAM is led by HM Treasury, and the Department for Business and Trade are engaging with them on this measure.