Gareth Snell

Gareth Snell

Labour (Co-op) — Stoke-on-Trent Central

Speaking in the House of Commons on 4 March 2025

Debate

North Staffordshire Ceramics Industry: Energy Costs

Contribution

The Minister probably knows as much about ceramics as those of us from Stoke-on-Trent, as she is constantly on her brief. On the transition, one of the challenges facing ceramics companies in Stoke-on-Trent and around the country is that the margins on their products are not sufficient to allow big up-front capital investments, which means that going from a gas kiln to an electric kiln is often beyond their reach as they simply do not have the cash flow. One solution that the Minister could potentially take back to the Department is some sort of VAT exemption for energy-intensive industries and companies that are looking to move towards more low-energy, low-carbon equipment. Perhaps the public sector decarbonisation scheme, which is currently undersubscribed, could be used in some way to help energy-intensive private companies to access new technology that would reduce not only their carbon output but their long-term energy costs through efficiencies.

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