Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department has made an estimate of the number of hospitality businesses which entered fixed-term energy contracts between September 2022 and November 2022.

The Energy Bills Discount Scheme (EBDS) is now live and will run until 31 March 2024. Contract negotiations are a commercial matter for suppliers and their customers. However, I met with Ofgem and energy suppliers in March to urge suppliers to do all they can to support their customers and will continue to press them on this matter. The Department has not made an estimate of the number of hospitality businesses which entered fixed-term energy contracts between September and November 2022.