John Whittingdale
Main Page: John Whittingdale (Conservative - Maldon)Department Debates - View all John Whittingdale's debates with the HM Treasury
(1 year, 4 months ago)
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James Cartlidge
I am not aware of what has happened to the letter or where it is, but I am more than happy to look into that as a matter of urgency and to ask my officials to chase it up. We will write to the hon. Lady as soon as we can.
Sir John Whittingdale (Maldon) (Con)
While I agree with my hon. Friend that support cannot continue indefinitely, I welcome his recognition that high energy users will continue to require special help. Will that support cover agricultural businesses that are high energy users such as Dengie Crops in my constituency, which uses gas to dry crops to produce animal feed?
James Cartlidge
My right hon. Friend asks an important question. Like him, as an MP representing an East Anglian arable constituency, I am aware of the importance of such businesses to the wider agricultural sector. As I said to the hon. Member for Bristol East (Kerry McCarthy), we will be publishing a list on gov.uk showing those energy and trade-intensive industries that are eligible for the higher level of support; I refer him to that. I am also happy to write to him to confirm it exactly, because within one sector there will be a range of different types of industry that may qualify.