Written questions by Anderson.

What recent assessment his Department has made of the capacity to support increased renewable energy generation of the electricity grid in (i) Buckinghamshire and (ii) Milton Keynes.

Electricity network capacity information is available at the website of each Distribution Network Operator that serves Buckinghamshire. For National Grid Electricity Distribution (which covers Milton Keynes) this can be found at: https://www.nationalgrid.co.uk/our-network/network-capacity-map/. For UK Power Networks https://ukpowernetworks.opendatasoft.com/pages/network-infrastructure-usage-map/?grid=true. For Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks https://network-maps.ssen.co.uk/. The National Energy System Operator also has information on transmission network capacity at: https://www.neso.energy/industry-information/connections/connections-360.

What steps his Department is taking to support businesses to transition to clean energy sources in (a) Buckinghamshire and (b) Milton Keynes.

In the 2024 Autumn Budget, the Government committed £163 million to continue delivery for all existing projects in Phases 1 and 2 and the first Phase 3 competition window of the IETF (Spring 2024) through to completion. Businesses are eligible to claim up to £7,500 towards the cost of a heat pump up to 45 kWth under the Boiler Upgrade Scheme. We encourage SMEs to visit the UK Business Climate Hub, which provides information and advice to SMEs on how to reduce energy use and carbon emissions. Ministers are considering opportunities to support UK businesses to decarbonize and reach Net Zero as part of the Spending Review. Further announcements will be made in due course.

What estimate he has made of the number and proportion of small businesses that will benefit from the Energy Bill Discount Scheme in (a) Buckinghamshire and (b) Milton Keynes, between 28 October 2024 and 31 March 2025.

The Energy Bills Discount Scheme closed on 31 March 2024, and so no businesses will benefit from the scheme during this time.