Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of high energy prices on small and medium size businesses.

The Energy Bill Relief Scheme provides a discount on the wholesale element of gas and electricity bills to ensure that all eligible businesses and other non-domestic customers, who receive their energy from licensed suppliers, including Post Offices, are protected from high energy costs over the winter period. Following a HMT-led review, the new Energy Bill Discount Scheme, will run from April until March 2024, and will provide a discount to eligible non-domestic customers, including Post Offices. The new scheme strikes a balance between supporting businesses, charities and other non-domestic customer over the next 12 months and limiting taxpayer’s exposure to volatile energy markets, with a cap set at £5.5 billion.