Asked by: Gareth Snell (Labour (Co-op) - Stoke-on-Trent Central)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what the total number of potential redundancies disclosed in HR1 forms received by his Department was in the last 12 months; and what assessment he has made of the potential impact of energy costs on those figures.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
In the financial year 2025/2026, the Insolvency Service recorded a total of 315,424 potential redundancies from HR1 (Advance Notice of Redundancy) forms:
April 2025 | 23,769 |
May 2025 | 24,643 |
June 2025 | 32,428 |
July 2025 | 25,162 |
August 2025 | 23,436 |
September 2025 | 24,504 |
October 2025 | 25,461 |
November 2025 | 30,396 |
December 2025 | 22,076 |
January 2026 | 28,493 |
February 2026 | 27,903 |
March 2026 | 27,153 |
No assessment of the potential impact of energy costs on those figures has been made as no specific questions about energy costs are asked on the HR1 form.
Asked by: Gareth Snell (Labour (Co-op) - Stoke-on-Trent Central)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many HR1 redundancy notices his Department received in each month of the 2025-26 financial year to date.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
In the financial year 2025/2026, the Insolvency Service recorded a total of 4,566 HR1 (Advance Notice of Redundancy) forms as follows:
April 2025 | 365 |
May 2025 | 382 |
June 2025 | 414 |
July 2025 | 407 |
August 2025 | 285 |
September 2025 | 345 |
October 2025 | 412 |
November 2025 | 412 |
December 2025 | 248 |
January 2026 | 396 |
February 2026 | 430 |
March 2026 | 470 |
Asked by: Gareth Snell (Labour (Co-op) - Stoke-on-Trent Central)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department takes to share data from HR1 redundancy notices with the Department for Work and Pensions to help ensure rapid response support is available for affected workers.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Redundancy Payments Service (RPS), acting on behalf of the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, collects information from HR1 submissions and distributes it on a daily basis to the appropriate government departments and agencies who offer job brokering services and/or training services.
These agencies include The Department for Work and Pensions who provide rapid response services in England and Wales and the Scottish Government’s Partnership Action for Continuing Employment (PACE) who provide these services in Scotland.
Asked by: Gareth Snell (Labour (Co-op) - Stoke-on-Trent Central)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of energy costs on the survival of high-street independent retailers.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Through our Clean Power 2030 mission we are taking action to accelerate the transition to clean, homegrown electricity helping to improve energy security and reduce exposure to the volatility of fossil fuel prices across of the UK economy. Alongside this, the government is considering and intends to consult stakeholders on a range of options to address the relative cost of electricity for non‑domestic users and to support the wider take‑up of low‑carbon heat.
We have introduced permanently lower business‑rates multipliers for retail, hospitality and leisure properties, worth nearly £900 million a year and benefiting over 750,000 premises and introduced a £4.3 billion transitional support package to protect ratepayers from large overnight increases. Later this year, we will bring forward a new High Streets Strategy, to help reinvigorate our communities. These measures will provide meaningful, long-term support to independent retailers at the heart of their communities.
Asked by: Gareth Snell (Labour (Co-op) - Stoke-on-Trent Central)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of energy prices on the operational costs of independent breweries.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government recognises the pressures that high energy costs can place on independent breweries. We engage regularly with colleagues across Government on measures to support businesses, and we keep the impact of energy prices under close review.
The Energy Secretary, Ed Miliband, and the interim CEO of Ofgem, Tim Jarvis, have written to business energy suppliers setting clear expectations that customers, particularly small businesses such as independent breweries, must be treated fairly. The letter makes clear that any unfair practices will not be tolerated, and that suppliers should take a fair and supportive approach, offering maximum flexibility and transparency for small business customers.
The Government also plans to legislate on Third Party Intermediaries, including energy brokers, through the forthcoming Energy Independence Bill to strengthen protections for SMEs, including independent breweries, when they engage in the business energy market.
Asked by: Gareth Snell (Labour (Co-op) - Stoke-on-Trent Central)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has assessed the potential effectiveness of Energy as a Service business models in reducing upfront capital barriers for UK manufacturers.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
It has not proved possible to respond to the Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Gareth Snell (Labour (Co-op) - Stoke-on-Trent Central)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he is taking steps to encourage the development of insurance products to protect small businesses against sudden energy price spikes.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Gareth Snell (Labour (Co-op) - Stoke-on-Trent Central)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to brief UK trade envoys on the energy-related strengths of the UK’s low-carbon goods and services sector.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Gareth Snell (Labour (Co-op) - Stoke-on-Trent Central)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of fluctuations in energy prices on the availability of professional indemnity insurance for energy consultants.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
It has not proved possible to respond to the Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Gareth Snell (Labour (Co-op) - Stoke-on-Trent Central)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent assessment he has made of the impact of service charge increases driven by increased communal energy costs on the viability of managed workspace providers.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
It has not proved possible to respond to the Member in the time available before Prorogation.