Every parliamentary written question tabled by Gareth Snell this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 61–80 of 318 · this parliament
What steps he is taking to support businesses in rural areas that are off the gas grid and reliant on heating oil or Liquefied Petroleum Gas.
It has not proved possible to respond to my hon. Friend in the time available before Prorogation.
What assessment he has made of the impact of energy costs on the survival rate of new businesses in Freeports.
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
What assessment he has made of the potential effectiveness of long-duration energy storage in providing price stability for industrial users.
It has not proved possible to respond to my hon. Friend in the time available before Prorogation.
What steps his Department takes to share data from HR1 redundancy notices with the Department for Work and Pensions to help ensure rapid response support is available for affected workers.
The Redundancy Payments Service (RPS), acting on behalf of the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, collects information from HR1 submissions and distributes it on a daily basis to the appropriate government departments and agencies who offer job brokering services and/or training services.These agencies include The Department for Work and Pensions who provide rapid response services in England and Wales and the Scottish Government’s Partnership Action for Continuing Employment (PACE) who provide these services in Scotland.
What assessment he has made of the impact of take-or-pay clauses in commercial energy contracts on business liquidity.
It has not proved possible to respond to the Member in the time available before Prorogation.
What steps he is taking to ensure that small businesses have access to affordable legal recourse in disputes with energy suppliers.
It has not proved possible to respond to my hon. Friend in the time available before Prorogation.
What assessment he has made of the prevalence of energy suppliers unilaterally changing payment terms for business customers.
It has not proved possible to respond to my hon. Friend in the time available before Prorogation.
What steps he is taking to encourage businesses to participate in Demand Side Response schemes.
It has not proved possible to respond to my hon. Friend in the time available before Prorogation.
How many HR1 redundancy notices his Department received in each month of the 2025-26 financial year to date.
In the financial year 2025/2026, the Insolvency Service recorded a total of 4,566 HR1 (Advance Notice of Redundancy) forms as follows:April 2025365May 2025382June 2025414July 2025407August 2025285September 2025345October 2025412November 2025412December 2025248January 2026396February 2026430March 2026470
How many HR1 redundancy notices received by his Department in the last six months originated from the manufacturing sector.
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
What discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero on the long-term reform of the electricity market to decouple gas and renewable prices for business users.
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the UK's exit from the EU on the cost of energy-efficient industrial machinery.
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
What the total number of potential redundancies disclosed in HR1 forms received by his Department was in the last 12 months; and what assessment he has made of the potential impact of energy costs on those figures.
In the financial year 2025/2026, the Insolvency Service recorded a total of 315,424 potential redundancies from HR1 (Advance Notice of Redundancy) forms: April 202523,769May 202524,643June 202532,428July 202525,162August 202523,436September 202524,504October 202525,461November 202530,396December 202522,076January 202628,493February 202627,903March 202627,153 No assessment of the potential impact of energy costs on those figures has been made as no specific questions about energy costs are asked on the HR1 form.
What plans he has to support the commercialisation of small modular reactors (SMRs) to provide dedicated power to industrial clusters.
It has not proved possible to respond to my hon. Friend in the time available before Prorogation.
What assessment he has made of the potential impact of high energy costs on the R&D budgets of manufacturing firms.
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
What steps his Department is taking to ensure that the UK’s "Clean Energy Superpower" mission reduces costs for gas-intensive businesses by 2030.
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
What steps she is taking to ensure that port infrastructure has access to affordable energy for shore-side power projects.
The Government is taking action to reform the grid connections process to ensure port infrastructure, such as shore power, can access the energy they need for maritime. In addition, the Government is currently considering policy options to accelerate connection dates for strategic demand customers, such as critical port sites, to ensure access to grid connections are not a blocker to growth and decarbonisation.We also ran a Call for Evidence about ports’ energy needs to inform future maritime emissions policy, a summary of which will be published later this year.
What support his Department provides to cold-storage logistics providers to manage peak-time energy tariffs.
Government recognises the importance of electrification of transport, including heavy goods vehicles, in delivering transport decarbonisation targets, and is aware of the impact that energy costs are having on different sectors, including logistics.Government is addressing wholesale and network costs through long‑term investment in clean, homegrown power to reduce exposure to volatile fossil fuel prices.The Department for Business and Trade regularly engages across Government, including with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and the Department for Transport, on matters relating to the cost of the electrification of transport. The Secretary of State for Business and Trade and his ministerial team will continue to have regular discussions with all Cabinet colleagues on energy costs.
What steps he is taking to support the development of private wire networks for industrial parks to reduce transmission costs.
Network regulation and charging arrangements are a matter for Ofgem as the independent regulator. The Government’s role is to ensure Ofgem has the appropriate framework to make decisions in the interests of consumers. While private wire arrangements may reduce reliance on the public network for individual users, they are unlikely to reduce overall transmission system costs, which are largely driven by fixed investment needed to meet peak demand, security and resilience requirements. In practice, such costs remain and would be redistributed across and recovered from remaining users. Ofgem’s Targeted Charging Review reformed network charges to ensure that all users of the electricity network make a fair contribution to its fixed costs and to address inefficiencies in the previous framework.
What assessment he has made of the potential impact of energy costs on business investment in the agricultural sector.
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.