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 regional distribution of energy cost support for businesses in the West Midlands of England.

The Department for Business and Trade manages two energy cost support schemes, the British Industry Supercharger and the Energy-Intensive Industries Compensation Scheme, to support eligible energy-intensive industries with the indirect costs of emissions levies and electricity policy and network costs. These schemes provide support to around 550 businesses across the whole of Great Britain, including businesses in the West Midlands of England in sectors such as brick production, aluminium casting, glass production, plastic manufacturing and paper manufacturing.