The Government will consult on the design of the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) recommendations to create a statutory open data scheme for road fuel prices and an ongoing road fuels monitoring function this autumn. These two recommendations will help to facilitate competition and fair pricing, nationally and locally, as well as helping tackle regional price disparities.

Until we can put these changes on a statutory footing, the government has supported the CMA to establish an interim voluntary fuel price data sharing scheme, encouraging retailers to share prices daily. The CMA will also continue to monitor fuel prices using its existing powers.

The Government have provided unprecedented support to help households and businesses with energy costs, totalling £94 billion for households and £8 billion for businesses. That is more than £100 billion over 2022 and 2023.

I ask my hon. Friend to keep me updated on what is happening with the hospitality sector in his constituency, but he will know that we have already introduced support for business rates, with a 75% reduction in business rates up to a cap of £110,000, and that the energy bills discount scheme is providing more than £8 billion of support over this year and last. We are doing everything we can.

The government recognises the additional cost of living pressures that have arisen this year which have impacted students. Decisions on student finance will have to be taken alongside other spending priorities to ensure the system remains financially sustainable and the costs of higher education are shared fairly between students and taxpayers, not all of whom have benefited from going to university.

On 11 January 2023, the department announced a one-off reallocation of funding so we can add £15 million to this year's student premium, to support additional hardship requests. There is now £276 million of student premium funding available this academic year to support disadvantaged students who need additional help. This extra funding will complement the help that universities are providing through their own bursary, scholarship and hardship support schemes. The department works with the Office for Students to ensure universities support students in hardship using both hardship funds and drawing on the student premium.

All households will save on their energy bills through the Energy Price Guarantee and the £400 Energy Bills Support Scheme discount. Students who buy their energy from a domestic supplier are eligible for the energy bills discount. The Energy Prices Act passed on 25 October 2022 includes the provision to require landlords to pass benefits they receive from energy price support, as appropriate, onto end users. Further details of the requirements under this act are set out in the legislation.

The department has continued to increase maximum loans and grants for living and other costs for undergraduate and postgraduate students each year with a 2.3% increase for the current academic year, 2022/23. The department has also recently announced a further 2.8% increase in maximum loans and grants for the 2023/24 academic year starting in August 2023.

In addition, the department has frozen maximum tuition fees for the 2022/23 academic year and also for the 2023/24 and 2024/25 academic years. By 2024/25, maximum fees will have been frozen for seven years. We believe that a continued fee freeze achieves the best balance between ensuring that the system remains sustainable, offering good value for the taxpayer, and reducing debt levels for students in real terms.

Universities and private accommodation providers are autonomous and are responsible for setting their own rent agreements. The department plays no direct role in the provision of student residential accommodation, whether the accommodation is managed by universities or private sector organisations. The Energy Bill Relief Scheme will provide a price reduction to ensure that all businesses and other non-domestic customers, including universities and private purpose-built student accommodation providers, are protected from high energy bills this winter.

There is no smart meter usage fee for energy consumers. Consumers' bills include the costs of providing and maintaining a live supply for metering points whether they are smart or traditional. These costs represent a small proportion of overall bills.

The Government is committed to protecting consumers from the impact of high energy prices and provided £37 billion in cost of living support last year. This included introducing the Energy Price Guarantee, which protects customers from increases in energy costs by limiting the amount suppliers can charge per unit of energy used and the average standing charges for customers on default tariffs.

No specific assessment has been made. However, in winter 2022/23 we have provided £55 billion to assist households and businesses with energy bills. A typical household will save approximately £900 through the Energy Price Guarantee, in addition to the £400 Energy Bill Support Scheme.

We are also allocating £9.3 billion over the next five years on energy efficiency, making homes easier and cheaper to heat. We will provide £26 billion for cost-of-living support in 2023, including the £900 cost of living payment for eight million poorer households. We have also increased the National Living Wage for two million workers to £10.42, or over £1,600 a year for a full-time employee aged 23 years old and over.

The Energy Bill Relief Scheme will provide a price reduction to ensure that all eligible businesses and other non-domestic customers, including swimming pools, are protected from excessively high energy bills over the winter period.

Foodbanks are independent, charitable organisations and the Department for Work and Pensions does not have any role in their operation. There is no consistent and accurate measure of food bank usage at a constituency or national level.

We understand the data limitations in this area, and therefore from April 2021 we introduced a set of questions into the Family Resources Survey (FRS) to measure and track foodbank usage. The first results of these questions are due to be published in March 2023 subject to usual quality assurance.

The government has announced unprecedented support within its Growth Plan to protect households and businesses from high energy prices. The Energy Price Guarantee and the Energy Bill Relief Scheme are supporting millions of households and businesses with rising energy costs, and the Chancellor made clear they will continue to do so from now until April next year. This is in addition to the over £37bn of cost of living support announced earlier this year which includes the £400 non-repayable discount to eligible households provided through the Energy Bills Support Scheme.

For those who require additional support the government has provided an additional £500 million to help households with the cost of essentials, on top of what we have already provided since October 2021, bringing the total funding for this support to £1.5 billion. For the period October 2022-March 2023, we are providing an additional £421million to help households in England with the cost of essentials, and the devolved administrations will receive £79 million through the Barnett formula.

The Alternative Fuel Payment will provide a one-off payment to UK households that use alternative fuels for heating, such as heating oil. This will come in addition to the £400 provided by the Energy Bills Support Scheme and the electricity component of the Energy Price Guarantee.

The Government is also providing £800 of one-off support to eight million of the most vulnerable households to help with the cost of living.

The Government regularly engages with businesses to understand the impact rising energy prices will have on businesses of all sizes.

The recently announced Energy Bill Relief Scheme (https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-outlines-plans-to-help-cut-energy-bills-for-businesses) ensures that all businesses and other non-domestic customers are protected from excessively high energy bills over the winter period. A review of the scheme, to be published in three months, will identify the most vulnerable non-domestic customers and how the government will continue assisting them with energy costs after the initial six months.

The Government recognises the impact rising energy prices will have on businesses of all sizes and is in regular contact with business groups and suppliers to understand the challenges they face and explore ways to protect consumers and businesses.

The recently announced Energy Bill Relief Scheme ( https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-outlines-plans-to-help-cut-energy-bills-for-businesses) ensures that all businesses and other non-domestic customers are protected from excessively high energy bills over the winter period. A review of the scheme, to be published in three months, will identify the most vulnerable non-domestic customers and how the government will continue assisting them with energy costs after the initial six months.

BEIS is monitoring the impact of energy prices on businesses and recognises the scale will vary depending on business type and type of contract or tariff.

The recently announced Energy Bill Relief Scheme ( https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-outlines-plans-to-help-cut-energy-bills-for-businesses) ensures that all businesses and other non-domestic customers are protected from excessively high energy bills over the winter period. A review of the scheme, to be published in three months, will identify the most vulnerable non-domestic customers and how the government will continue assisting them with energy costs after the initial six months.

The Government is also providing support via with business rates relief, freezing alcohol duty rates on beer, cider, wine and spirits, and increasing the employment allowance.

Households not on standard gas or electricity contracts, such as those in rural areas, will receive equivalent support to that provided through the Energy Bills Support Scheme, and the Energy Price Guarantee. The Government is working at pace to determine the most practical and tested routes to deliver this support. As part of this, for households who do not use gas for domestic heating, the Government has committed to provide an additional payment of £100 to compensate for the rising costs of other fuels such as heating oil.

As an internationally traded commodity, natural gas prices are primarily driven by the underlying price in the global market. Many of the factors affecting the spikes seen recently in wholesale gas prices are attributable to international activity extending beyond the UK's domestic production. To date, the Department has not undertaken analysis of the impact of increased domestic gas production on domestic wholesale price specifically.

Through close engagement with the steel industry, the Government is acutely aware of the continued pressure on steel companies because of high energy and raw material costs.

The Government remains determined to secure a competitive future for energy intensive industries (EIIs) such as steel, providing them with extensive support, including over £2 billion to help with the costs of energy and to protect jobs.

The recently-announced Energy Bill Relief Scheme ensures that all businesses and other non-domestic customers are protected from excessively high energy bills over the winter period. A review of the scheme, to be published in three months, will identify the most vulnerable non-domestic customers and how the government will continue assisting them with energy costs after the initial six months.

The Government is monitoring the impact of energy prices on businesses and recognises the scale will vary depending on business type and type of contract or tariff.

The Government announced a new six-month scheme – the Energy Bill Relief Scheme - to ensure that all businesses and other non-domestic customers are protected from excessively high energy bills over the winter period. After this initial six-month period, the Government will provide focused support for vulnerable sectors, targeted to make sure those most in need get support.

The Government is also providing support via with business rates relief, freezing alcohol duty rates on beer, cider, wine and spirits, increasing the employment allowance.

Ministers and Officials in the Department regularly engage with energy suppliers to discuss the impact of rising energy costs on businesses of all sizes.

The Government announced a new six-month scheme – the Energy Price Guarantee for Businesses (EPGB) – to protect all businesses and other non-domestic energy users from soaring energy costs. The scheme will offer comparable support to that being provided for consumers and more details will follow shortly. After this initial six-month scheme, the Government will provide focused support for vulnerable sectors, targeted to make sure those most in need get support.

The food supply chain is under pressure due to multiple and concurrent pressures including the Russian invasion of Ukraine and rising costs for producers (including energy and raw materials). Given sustained pressures, we anticipate food prices continuing to trend upwards in the short term.

UK food supply remains secure and supply chain resilience remains excellent. We are aware of potential impacts of rising energy costs to the food and drinks industry. Defra works closely with industry and other Government Departments to monitor, assess and respond where appropriate to mitigate these pressures. The Prime Minister has made clear that we will deal with energy bills and secure our future energy supply.

Fertilisers make up around 9% of input costs into food production. Food prices are influenced by a range of factors - from currency fluctuations to commodity prices.

We are monitoring the situation closely, including through the UK Agriculture Market Monitoring Group. Defra is in regular contact with key industry figures including the National Farmers Union, the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board and the Agricultural Industries Confederation. Defra is also working with these bodies on how fertiliser price transparency can be improved in order to aid farmers with their decision making.

Through the minister led Fertiliser Industry Taskforce, the Government and industry will work together to improve market confidence and help provide farmers with the information needed to make business decisions on fertiliser use.

To support farmers the 2022 Basic Payment Scheme payment will be made in 2 instalments to give farmers an advance injection of cash. Other actions taken include changes to guidance on farmers using manures, and increased grants for farmers and growers, boosting research and development.

My hon. Friend is, of course, right. I also encourage him to wait to hear what the Prime Minister says later today. It is very, very important to ensure we continue to be able to produce some of the best food in the world and the Government are committed to doing that.