Asked by: Bim Afolami (Conservative - Hitchin and Harpenden)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to support small- and medium-sized enterprises to transition to net zero.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department is taking many steps to encourage SMEs to transition to Net Zero and to support SMEs through the barriers which prevent the transition.
Ahead of COP26, BEIS has launched the Together for Our Planet Business Climate Leaders’ campaign, which has encouraged over 1,900 small and micro businesses across the UK to join the Race to Zero by making the SME Climate Commitment.
In order to help SMEs overcome barriers to investing in energy efficiency BEIS launched the Boosting Access for SMEs to Energy Efficiency innovation competition. The competition offered up to £6m to fund the development of new, innovative market solutions that can provide businesses with tailored energy efficiency advice, as well as simplifying the energy efficiency investment processes through the creation of one-stop-shop platforms.
I have recently given the British Business Bank a new mission to drive sustainable growth and prosperity across the UK, and to enable the transition to a net zero economy, by supporting access to finance for smaller businesses. Between 2014 and the third quarter of 2020 a total of £160m has been invested into clean technology businesses by equity funds backed by the British Business Bank.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to support small- and medium-sized enterprises to transition to net zero.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Ahead of COP26, BEIS has launched the Together for Our Planet Business Climate Leaders’ campaign, which has encouraged over 1,900 small and micro businesses across the UK to join the Race to Zero by making the SME Climate Commitment.
To help SMEs overcome barriers to investing in energy efficiency the Government launched the Boosting Access for SMEs to Energy Efficiency innovation competition. The competition offered up to £6m to fund the development of new, innovative market solutions that can provide businesses with tailored energy efficiency advice, as well as simplifying the energy efficiency investment processes through the creation of one-stop-shop platforms.
The British Business Bank a new mission to drive sustainable growth and prosperity across the UK, and to enable the transition to a net zero economy, by supporting access to finance for smaller businesses. Between 2014 and the third quarter of 2020 a total of £160m has been invested into clean technology businesses by equity funds backed by the British Business Bank.
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on providing support to SMEs to help them transition to net-zero.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
My Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer and I have agreed to give the British Business Bank a new mission to drive sustainable growth and prosperity across the UK, and to enable the transition to a net zero economy, by supporting access to finance for smaller businesses. The Bank has already made good progress in this area. Between 2014 and the third quarter of 2020 a total of £160m has been invested into clean technology businesses by equity funds backed by the British Business Bank.
Ahead of COP26, BEIS has launched the Together for Our Planet Business Climate Leaders’ campaign, which has encouraged over 1,900 small and micro businesses across the UK to join the Race to Zero by making the SME Climate Commitment.
Small and medium-sized businesses have a vital role in the transition to Net Zero. Smaller businesses make up 99% of the UK’s 5.87 million enterprises and produce 50% of all UK business emissions. Small businesses will drive this transition through developing new technologies and ways of working.
Asked by: William Wragg (Independent - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to support SMEs operating in the UK to transition to net zero.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
This Department is taking many steps to encourage SMEs to transition to Net Zero and to support SMEs through the barriers which prevent the transition. These steps are detailed below.
Information and engagement
Ahead of COP26, BEIS has launched the Together for Our Planet Business Climate Leaders’ campaign, which has encouraged over 1,900 small and micro businesses across the UK to join the Race to Zero by making the SME Climate Commitment.
Addressing energy efficiency
In order to help SMEs overcome barriers to investing in energy efficiency we launched the Boosting Access for SMEs to Energy Efficiency innovation competition. The competition offered up to £6m to fund the development of new, innovative market solutions that can provide businesses with tailored energy efficiency advice, as well as simplifying the energy efficiency investment processes through the creation of one-stop-shop platforms.
Access to Finance
I have recently given the British Business Bank a new mission to drive sustainable growth and prosperity across the UK, and to enable the transition to a net zero economy, by supporting access to finance for smaller businesses. Between 2014 and the third quarter of 2020 a total of £160m has been invested into clean technology businesses by equity funds backed by the British Business Bank.
Small businesses can access the government grants available for plug-in vehicles which help reduce the up-front purchase price of electric vehicles. Eligible cars, costing less than £35,000, can receive a grant of £2,500. Small vans can receive up to £3,000 and large vans up to £6,000.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 12 July 2021 to Question 28185, for what reason the Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2021 did not publish data on micro and small businesses for questions relating to the Cyber Essentials Scheme as it had in previous years.
Answered by Matt Warman
When we published the Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2021 we purposely focused on the impact of additional guidance issued by NCSC in response to the COVID-19 pandemic: guidance on home working and video conferencing services; and guidance on moving business online, as we considered these to be the priority topics of interest at that time. As a result, we did not publish the data on awareness of Cyber Essentials for micro and small businesses.
Overall for businesses in 2021, 14% of businesses were aware of Cyber Essentials, in line with 2020 (13%). The figures on micro and small businesses from the 2021 Survey followed the same trend as previous years. As in previous years, awareness of Cyber Essentials was lower for micro (12%) and small (22%) businesses than medium (45%) and large businesses (50%).
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Newable Small Business Confidence Index, published on 15 June 2020; and what steps they are taking to assist small businesses in creating sustainable office environments.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
As the world starts to recover from the Coronavirus pandemic, businesses have an opportunity to recover cleaner, rebuild greener and emerge better equipped for the future. Businesses of all sizes can access free support and guidance on accessing the right finance from a range of Government-backed sources: the network of 38 Growth Hubs in England – and equivalent support in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales – the Business Support Helpline and the business webpages on GOV.UK.
As part of COP26, through a campaign led by our Net Zero Business Champion my Hon. Friend the Member for Arundel and South Downs, small businesses from across the UK are invited to join the green business revolution and commit to becoming more sustainable. By November, the aim is for as many UK small businesses as possible to join the ‘Race to Zero’ – a global effort to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases we all generate to zero by 2050.
The first step small businesses can take is to visit our new digital platform and sign up to the globally recognised small business climate commitment. Here small and micro businesses can also get help and advice on how to be greener and save money. The new digital platform is embedded on the existing SME Climate Hub, which is part of the global Race to Zero campaign. Signing up allows businesses to publicly commit to becoming greener, plan the steps they will take to get there, show customers they are serious about climate, and help to start a green business movement.
Taking action on climate change will help businesses to grow, seize new opportunities and adapt against the challenges of a changing planet. Reducing emissions can lower businesses’ running costs, save them money, and attract new customers who want to shop sustainably.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to improve the understanding of small businesses about energy efficiency schemes.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
In line with the Government’s commitment to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050, it is vital to improve the knowledge of small businesses about energy efficiency schemes. There are a range of steps that the Government is taking to do this.
In May we launched the UK Business Climate Hub website, where small businesses can use the hub to find practical tools, resources and advice to understand their emissions and develop a plan to tackle them. The campaign will also provide small businesses with access to some of the UK’s biggest businesses and leading climate experts to support them in taking the simple and practical steps to protect the planet, and the benefits of future-proofing and growing a low carbon business. The campaign also encourages small and micro businesses to commit to cutting their emissions in half by 2030 and to net zero by 2050 or sooner.
Further, BEIS has recently delivered a comprehensive upgrade to the Energy Technology List (ETL) website making it one of the leading sources of truly independent and trustworthy energy efficiency advice available to business. The ETL is a procurement tool that encourages users to specify and procure the most energy-efficient products available on the market. Businesses can have confidence that the energy performance of products are rigorously evaluated before being allowed on the ETL. Using the ETL allows businesses to streamline purchasing decisions, ensuring that efficient options are selected to decrease energy bills and increase green credentials. Going forward, BEIS plans to develop even more SME focused ETL content on the financial and environmental benefits of selecting energy-efficient products. This content will build on the positive feedback that BEIS has received from industry about the new website as demonstrated by the growth in new users that the site is continuing to attract.
In order to increase the uptake of energy efficiency measures, the Government is also developing a new Small Business Energy Efficiency Scheme which will aim to support small and medium sized businesses implement energy efficiency upgrades in their buildings. Following a Call for Evidence on the scheme, a consultation will be published later in 2021.
In order to help SMEs overcome barriers to investing in energy efficiency we launched the Boosting Access for SMEs to Energy Efficiency innovation competition. The competition offered up to £6m to fund the development of new, innovative market solutions that can provide businesses with tailored energy efficiency advice, as well as simplifying the energy efficiency investment processes through the creation of one-stop-shop platforms.
For additional advice, small businesses may choose to access the Business Support Helpline, or may find the then Department for Energy and Climate Change’s SME guide to energy efficiency useful.
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many Bounce Back Loans businesses have taken up, by business size and what the value is of those loans, by business size.
Answered by Paul Scully
A breakdown on the number of loans offered through the Bounce Back Loan Scheme as of 21 June 2021 is in the table below.
Business Size | Value (£) | No. of Facilities |
Micro | 39,737,670,885 | 1,395,991 |
Small | 6,823,645,704 | 140,954 |
Medium | 138,154,304 | 3,245 |
Mid- Sized | 147,613,609 | 3,429 |
Large | 7,492,775 | 176 |
Total | 46,854,577,277 | 1,543,795 |
The categories are based on turnover and breakdown as follows:
Micro: Turnover > £632k;
Small: Turnover between £632K and £10.19 million;
Medium: Turnover between £10.2 million and £24.9 million;
Mid-Sized: Turnover between £25 million and £500 million;
Large: Turnover > £500 million.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the national shortages of building materials reported by the Construction Leadership Council in May 2021, what steps he is taking to help ensure that (a) micro, (b) small and (c) medium-sized construction firms continue to have access to building materials.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government is aware that a range of building materials are in short supply nationally. This is driven by demand and increased global competition to secure supplies.
In light of this, and in view of more local disruptions in the supply of some products, the Construction Leadership Council’s Coronavirus Task Force has established a Product Availability Working Group, comprised of product manufacturers, builders’ merchants and suppliers, contractors of all sizes, and housebuilders. The Task Force continues to monitor the supply and demand of products, and identify those in short supply.
The Task Force also issues regular statements on product availability. The Task Force has set out that where products are in short supply, any allocation systems should be as transparent as possible so that all customers can be seen to be treated fairly. Additionally, the Task Force has emphasised the importance of good forward-planning and clear communication within the industry. The Task Force has also recommended that where relevant, production for major projects should not be seen to adversely affect volumes available for smaller, regular customers.
The product availability statements also include detailed updates on the availability of specific products in affected material areas in order to keep the market informed. These can be accessed at: https://www.constructionleadershipcouncil.co.uk/.
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has not made an assessment of the potential effect of the current shortage of building materials on the Government’s ability to fulfil its commitment to upgrade as many homes as possible to EPC Band C by 2035.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to support businesses to switch to renewable energy sources for their power supply.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government is working with stakeholders to drive the ambitious action needed from UK businesses to help tackle climate change and reduce their impact on the environment.
Significant financial savings are available to businesses taking steps to improve their energy efficiency and decarbonise to achieve Net Zero. We are working to encourage as many UK businesses to pledge to join the Race to Zero campaign and set climate targets. The UK’s Net Zero Business Champion, my Hon. Friend the Member for Arundel and South Downs, will also be launching a small and micro business campaign ahead of COP26, which is aimed at mass mobilising local businesses and getting as many as possible to sign up to the Race to Zero via a new UK landing page on the SME Climate Hub.
Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting Regulations (SECR) came into force on 1 April 2019 and have been introduced to simplify requirements for businesses to report on their energy use and carbon emissions. This provides greater levels of transparency, helping to stimulate demand for low carbon energy supplies.
We are supporting small-scale renewable electricity through the Smart Export Guarantee scheme (SEG). The SEG provides small-scale renewable generators the right to be paid for the excess energy they export to the grid.
The Clean Heat Grant (CHG) will be targeted at households and small non-domestic buildings, to enable the installation of heat pumps and, in limited circumstances, biomass, to provide space and water heating.
The Green Gas Support Scheme (GGSS) will follow on from support for biomethane under the Non-Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive, which is due to close to new applicants on 31 March 2021. The GGSS will provide tariff support for biomethane produced via anaerobic digestion. It will launch in autumn 2021 and will be open to applicants for four years.