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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what criteria his Department will use to assess which businesses qualify for energy costs support after six months due to their vulnerability.

The Government will publish a review of the scheme in three months, which will consider how to support customers who are the most vulnerable to energy price increases. These are likely to be those who are least able to adjust, for example by reducing energy usage or increasing energy efficiency. The review will consider how effective the scheme has been in supporting vulnerable non-domestic customers and which groups of non-domestic customers remain particularly vulnerable to energy price rises. Continuing support to those deemed eligible would begin at the end of the initial 6-month support scheme, without a gap.