To ask the Minister for the Economy what action he is taking to secure the extension of the Energy Bill Relief Scheme beyond the initial six month period.

I fully appreciate the plight of businesses who are experiencing unprecedented rises in energy costs and broader inflationary pressures driven by a perfect storm of internationally-driven factors.

Much like the crisis created in the local economy as a result of Covid, the magnitude of this global inflationary crisis means that it can only be tackled by significant interventions at a national government level. As such, this is a policy which is being determined at a national level and the required financial resource is then being made available for delivery to all consumers across the UK.

The Northern Ireland Executive simply does not have the levers or financial firepower to deliver the type of immediate help at the scale that is required, whether the Executive is fully functioning or not. However, I believe that the certainty that the Energy Price Guarantee provides is essential for business and strongly believe that this should be extended by HMG.