Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether the Small Business Strategy will consider the cost of full electrification of commercial properties for SMEs.

We will launch the Small Business Strategy later this year complementing the Government’s forthcoming Industrial and Trade Strategies as part of our economic growth mission.

The strategy will help drive small business growth and productivity, for example – from boosting scale-ups to supporting budding entrepreneurs. It will cover a number of key policy areas, including creating thriving high streets, making it easier to access finance, opening up overseas markets, building business capabilities and supporting entrepreneurship. Although the full electrification of commercial properties is not a policy proposal we expect to be covered in the Small Business Strategy, we remain committed to a Net Zero economy by 2050.