This statement provides an update on Government intervention in the supply of carbon dioxide.
On 26 March 2026, in response to risks to supply chains arising from the ongoing conflict in the middle east, the Government directed Ensus UK Ltd to restart production to generate a significant volume of carbon dioxide. This carbon dioxide will be captured and sold to the market for use in food manufacture and preservation, beverage manufacture, energy, healthcare, and other essential applications.
For several months, the Government have been in discussion with Ensus to agree a standby arrangement. Under this arrangement, Ensus is required to maintain the plant in a quiescent state, at modest cost to Government, and keeps it ready to be activated at short notice in the event of a carbon dioxide shortage, or a credible risk of one emerging.
When the Government could have stepped back and let the plant close last year, we stepped in to keep it available. This intervention illustrates the different approach taken by this Government—an active and strategic state prepared to act where it is in the national interest. While previous Governments closed Britain’s gas storage, this Government have repeatedly acted to support our resilience, from saving British Steel from collapse to securing the future of the chemical cracker at Grangemouth. The Ensus intervention is part of that same deliberate pattern.
It forms part of wider Government work to ensure the UK maintains access to critical industrial inputs during periods of global supply disruption, such as the ongoing conflict in the middle east.
The Government are also taking steps to diversify the UK’s long-term carbon dioxide supply, strengthening UK resilience and reducing exposure to future global shocks. We will work with industry to develop and deliver this long-term plan.
My Department will continue to work with industry and relevant lead Government Departments to monitor risks to supply. We will protect taxpayers’ money by operating the plant only for as long as necessary. This is why we have agreed that the plant will operate for an initial period of three months but will be subject to regular review. The Department for Business and Trade will closely monitor the associated spend, which will be reported in DBT’s accounts for 2026-27, with 2025-26 spend also disclosed in the annual report and accounts. If conditions require it, the Government will not hesitate to extend this period and will retain the ability to restart the plant for a longer period as a precautionary measure.
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Trade Union Access to the Workplace and TUPE Reform
The Government have set the country on the path of national renewal, building a Britain for all on the firm foundations of security, respect and opportunity. That means creating an economy that delivers for working people: productive, profitable and growing, and creating the best environment for business by maximising job security to raise productivity, improve skills and cut the costs of staff turnover.
The Government’s plan to make work pay will bring employment rights legislation into the 21st century. We are building an economy based on fair competition between businesses, greater productivity in the workplace, job security for workers, and fair reward for hard work, delivered in partnership with businesses, trade unions, public sector employers and civil society.
Government response to the consultation “Make Work Pay: trade union right of access”
As part of this, last autumn we consulted on strengthening trade union access to the workplace. Respondents engaged extensively, and their feedback has been carefully analysed and used to inform the final statutory access framework.
The Government response published today sets out the decisions and how the right of access framework will operate in practice, ensuring it is proportionate and enables regulated and responsible union access to the workplace. This includes:
Clear requirements for written union access requests and employer responses, supported by Government-issued templates;
Defined time periods for responses, negotiation and any referrals to the Central Arbitration Committee, with flexibility for agreed extensions;
I wish to update Parliament on a package of significant measures and a major investment to drive forward the delivery of the Industrial Strategy, strengthen the UK’s advanced manufacturing base, and ensure the country remains a leading hub for business and investment in a volatile global environment. This builds on the statement made in January, which set out measures to support scale-ups, accelerate battery innovation, and reduce unnecessary regulatory burdens. Alongside this package, the Government will publish the latest quarterly update on delivery of the Industrial Strategy and confirm the re-appointment of Clare Barclay as Chair of the Industrial Strategy Advisory Council for a further term.
Delivering the Industrial Strategy with support for Advanced Manufacturing
We are backing the advanced manufacturing sector with over £700 million to help UK industry move faster towards electrification, create pathways into fulfilling, skilled careers and strengthen our supply chains. This will support up to 4,200 jobs, backing local communities and putting more money in people’s pockets.
At the heart of this package is a £380 million DRIVE35 grant to support the delivery of what will be one of Europe’s largest battery gigafactories in Somerset, with a frame of 100% British steel. This project, delivered by Agratas, will strengthen the UK’s battery manufacturing capability, support growth across the automotive and battery supply chains, and reinforce the competitiveness of the UK automotive sector as it transitions to electrification. The project is expected to support up to 4,200 jobs directly and a strong local skills pipeline, including apprenticeships and training in battery manufacturing and engineering, working with local partners such as the University Centre Somerset. It will supply batteries to Jaguar Land Rover, helping to anchor future electric vehicle production in the UK. This builds on previous Government action to support Jaguar Land Rover and its supply chain following the cyber-attack, helping to protect jobs across the automotive sector.
We have launched three consultations setting out major reforms to modernise the product safety framework and review the UK’s furniture fire safety regulations. Using the powers provided by the Product Regulation and Metrology Act 2025, our proposals will strengthen protection for consumers from unsafe products and create a level playing field that supports responsible businesses. Proposals will clarify responsibilities and streamline regulations, which will create certainty and support growth and investment. At the heart of these proposals is a commitment to consolidate and modernise market surveillance and enforcement powers across product safety legislation.
The existing product safety framework has been stretched to its limit by increasingly globalised supply chains and the ever-changing way in which consumers buy products. The new framework must address the issues of today and be prepared to deal with the potential challenges of tomorrow. Modern-day products and supply chains have exposed UK consumers to new harms. We have seen serious incidents that have tragically caused death and personal injury, from fatal house fires caused by unsafe e-bike batteries exploding, to children being injured by swallowing powerful magnets marketed as toys. These incidents highlight the real risks posed by unsafe products and are why these consultations are so important.
A particular challenge has been the rise of e-commerce, which has rapidly changed the way consumers buy products and exposed regulatory gaps in today’s global supply chains. For too long, online marketplaces have made third-party sales of dangerous products too easy. As announced in the Budget 2025, we are consulting on proposals to introduce new requirements on online marketplaces and create a level playing field for UK “bricks and mortar” businesses and our high streets.
Subscription Contracts Regime: Response to Implementation Consultation
Subscription contracts play an increasingly significant role in the lives of UK consumers. Across the economy, people rely on subscription services for everything from streaming and software to meal kits, fitness, and household essentials. There are an estimated 155 million active subscriptions in the UK, representing around £26 billion of consumer spending each year. While this model brings genuine convenience for many, far too often people find themselves stuck in subscriptions they no longer want or need, or paying for contracts that automatically renewed without their full awareness. Some £1.6 billion is spent annually on unwanted subscriptions in the UK.
This Government are committed to protecting consumers and ensuring that they have clarity and control over their spending, especially during a time when household budgets are under pressure. Today we are taking an important step to deliver on that commitment by publishing the Government response to the consultation on the implementation of the new subscription contracts regime.
This marks another milestone in enhancing consumer protection and implementing measures introduced in the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024. These will strengthen consumer rights and help people across the UK keep more of their hard-earned money, which will save consumers an average of £14 per month for every unwanted subscription they can cancel.
Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024
The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act received Royal Assent on 24 May 2024 and established a new regulatory framework for subscription contracts. This requires businesses to give clear pre-contract information and send regular reminders about ongoing subscriptions. Businesses must also ensure that it is straightforward for consumers to cancel, and provide online cancellation if consumers can sign up online. The Act also introduces new statutory cancellation rights, including 14-day cooling-off periods when free or discounted trials roll on to higher full price terms or when contracts of 12 months or more auto-renew.
Call for Input: New Powers to Protect UK from Acts of Adverse Economic Pressure
As an open trading nation, the UK thrives on its connections with the world. International trade fuels economic growth in the UK, and delivers significant benefits for businesses, workers and consumers alike. However, rising geopolitical tensions and growing uncertainty are reshaping global trade dynamics. Unfair trading practices are emerging that disrupt supply chains and distort competition, sometimes aimed at forcing changes in law or policy.
When supply chains are disrupted, it is working people who feel it first—in higher prices at the checkout, in uncertainty about their jobs, and in the disruption to the businesses and industries their communities depend on.
That is why we recognised these risks in our Trade Strategy, published last year. We are already taking action to make our economy more resilient and secure, and we work closely with allies through the G7, the World Trade Organisation and the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership to challenge unfair practices wherever they occur. Now we are asking whether additional powers are needed, and on Thursday 9 April we launched a call for input to consider the case for developing new powers to reinforce our ability to respond to acts of adverse economic pressure against the UK.
We are seeking to understand whether the UK Government should strengthen the UK’s economic security and resilience against acts of adverse economic pressure, and if so how, while supporting growth, competitiveness, and our international obligations. This call for input will be open for 10 weeks and will aim to gather views from a broad range of stakeholders on the opportunities, risks, and implementation considerations associated with taking new powers. This includes perspectives from businesses, industry, consumer organisations, other representative and sector bodies, as well as insights from think-tanks, academics, the devolved Governments, Crown dependencies, and overseas territories.
Circumstances where the CAC must refuse access and when it may be reasonable to do so, ensuring safeguards for all parties; and
A three-tier enforcement system and clear factors the CAC must consider when setting fines, such as the scale and resources of the liable party.
Consultation on draft code of practice on Trade Union Right of Access
Alongside the Government response, we are launching a consultation on a new draft code of practice on statutory trade union access. The code will provide clear, practical guidance for employers and unions on how to navigate the new framework and apply it across different types of workplaces. This is an opportunity for all interested parties to help shape this guidance before it is finalised, helping ensure that the new statutory right of access is well understood and supports smooth, effective implementation.
The consultation will run for six weeks, closing on 20 May.
The final policy details for trade union access to workplaces will be set out in legislation through statutory instruments, which will be laid in Parliament this summer alongside the code of practice.
TUPE Call for Evidence
Today we are also launching a call for evidence on the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations—TUPE. The Make Work Pay plan committed to reforming the TUPE regulations. The regulations exist to support business transfers and protect staff whose job is moved to a new employer. We believe firms should be able to smoothly transfer part or all of their business or transfer service provision, and supporting a stable workforce during transitions can in turn support a competitive business environment. The TUPE regulations should be easy to understand and follow for employers and protect staff.
We intend to consider reforms based on these principles —maintaining the right level of employment rights and protections but simplifying the process for employers.
Through this call for evidence, we will gather evidence on the prevalence and experience of TUPE, including on how many employees it affects and what types of employees and employers are affected. It will also gather evidence on whether employers understand the current rules, and whether the current required steps are followed in practice. We will engage stakeholders throughout. The information gathered will support decision making on any TUPE reforms.
Next steps
This package of consultations sets out the next steps in delivering our plans. They are critical to shaping the practical implementation of this legislation, helping the Government to deliver reforms that are both effective and inclusive. It is in everyone’s interest to get the relationship between employer and worker right. These consultations and the further consultations planned will help us make work pay for both.
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Backing business to transition, innovate, and compete
This investment sits within a wider package to help advanced manufacturing businesses transition, innovate and compete in electric vehicle manufacturing. This includes interventions from our DRIVE35 programme:
Announcing the winners of four R&D competitions worth £90 million, backing innovation across the UK automotive and battery ecosystem and supporting UK leadership in zero emission vehicle technologies, such as a £32 million project where JLR are partnering with semiconductor firm ARM to bring auto and tech firms together to advance software-defined vehicles technologies for EVs.
Funding of £100 million to help the automotive supply chain and support automotive suppliers to transition their systems and capabilities towards EV manufacturing, focused on the west midlands and north-east of England.
The package also includes the first round of multi-year R&D support through the battery innovation programme to back next-generation battery technologies and UK supply chain capabilities, with up to £22 million awarded—matched by industry—to UK-led R&D projects. We have also opened a round 2 competition, worth £25 million, to support business-led collaborative R&D. The package will support innovation in “breakthrough” battery cell materials, including novel cathode materials and solid-state batteries. It will enable UK battery firms to secure private investment and compete globally. This funding will support the development of a circular value chain in battery materials, mining, refining and recycling, and boost our economic resilience. We have also announced £1.4 million of connected and autonomous mobility pathfinder programme grants for feasibility studies exploring autonomous freight in Teesside, Sunderland and the Port of Tyne, as well as self-driving passenger services at the Wellcome Genome Campus in Hinxton, Cambridgeshire, at an NHS site, at an airport, and in London, advancing safer, more efficient, automated transport.
We are also expanding the Made Smarter adoption programme, doubling our investment up to £99 million over three years, to support manufacturing SMEs to adopt industrial digital technologies, growing local ecosystems and the significant sectoral strengths that are found across the English regions. Taken together, these measures will help firms invest in new capability, adopt new technologies, and build stronger domestic supply chains in strategically important sectors.
In addition, up to £16.44 million-worth of grants will be deployed from the Made Smarter innovation programme to drive the development of scalable, industrial digital technologies, improving productivity while reducing energy and resource use. The programme is designed to help manufacturing SMEs close the UK’s digitalisation gap by connecting innovators with real-world challenges and supporting solutions that boost productivity, resilience and sustainability.
Skills and jobs
The Government are also doubling down on creating a skilled workforce fit for the future and driving forward implementation of our £182 million industrial strategy engineering skills package. This includes £47 million of adult skills funding to train up the next generation of engineers and inventors, and we will be writing to Mayors shortly to allocate this funding to strategic authorities to ensure it is aligned with local needs.
This package also includes £1.8 million to expand engineering and construction T-level provision, and £8 million in capital funding to support clean energy engineering courses at levels 4 and 5. For example, Durham University will upgrade engineering laboratories and create a new flight controls lab to expand capacity in clean energy and advanced manufacturing, while Yeovil College will transform its engineering building with specialist equipment and redesigned teaching spaces to boost high-level skills in advanced manufacturing, clean energy, and defence engineering.
A new battery manufacturing apprenticeship unit has been launched, which will help meet the skills needs of Agratas’s new Somerset gigafactory. The unit will give employers flexible, targeted training to quickly build the specialist workforce needed for the UK’s growing battery sector.
Access to finance
This package also reflects a step change in public financial institution support to UK industry. The British Business Bank is increasing support for advanced manufacturing as part of our wider funding for the industrial strategy sectors. From this month, it will deploy the additional £4 billion of industrial strategy growth capital to support growth and investment, and build the ecosystem of specialist investment funds focused on industrial strategy sectors. UK Export Finance has already backed over £6.6 billion of advanced manufacturing investment over the last two years. This includes £128 million to support the export of two submarine rescue vehicle systems to the Indonesian Navy. The deal will inject over £67 million into the UK economy through British suppliers SMP Ltd and Forum Energy Technologies Ltd to manufacture these advanced vehicles in York and Bristol, safeguarding and creating jobs across the domestic manufacturing and defence industries. In the summer they will announce plans to go even further, supercharging UKEF’s ability to help UK companies tap into the power of international markets.
This package demonstrates the Government’s determination to compete for the industries of the future, strengthen resilience in critical sectors, and back investors who create skilled jobs nationwide.
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We must ensure that people can rely on the safety of products they buy and use every day, whether in the home or the workplace. The consultations set out how we will bring product safety protections up to date and ensure they work for the future.
The consultations cover proposals in the following areas:
Getting the basics right: proposals for the new framework to cover a wider scope of products, updating how a safe product will be defined and how the safety of a product can be assessed to reflect modern technology and new hazards. This will be monitored through updated and consolidated enforcement powers.
Accountability throughout the supply chain: proposals setting out the responsibilities of businesses in scope of the new framework, including online marketplaces and online sellers, and their core obligations to protect consumers from dangerous products.
A new approach to product information: proposals to allow product information to be provided more flexibly—both physically and digitally—and to move towards a “digital by default” approach to product information.
Building on the new foundations: proposals for additional tools to manage products posing greater risk of harm and paving the way for further reform of sector and product-specific regulations; and a call for evidence on how artificial intelligence-enabled products can best be regulated to balance safety and innovation.
A reformed enforcement framework: addressing duplication, overlap and inconsistent terminology, and establishing a single, coherent framework that is clearer for regulators, more predictable for businesses, and better able to respond to modern risks. It will also modernise and consolidate the UK’s market surveillance system, giving authorities clearer, more consistent powers to act quickly on unsafe or non-compliant products across all routes to market, including online.
The consultations will support us in determining how best to put our plans into practice. I encourage everyone with an interest in product safety to respond to the consultations and share their views to help deliver a safer future for all.
Alongside the two broad product safety framework consultations, we have published a third consultation to review the UK’s furniture fire safety regulations. This consultation sets out our intent to implement new furniture fire safety regulations that can be met by passing a smoulder test, which is consistent with the approach taken in much of the EU and the United States. This follows an evidence-led approach to craft a set of proposals that will maintain a high level of fire safety, while meaningfully reducing the reliance on chemical flame retardants.
These consultations will close after 12 weeks on 23 June 2026.
Alongside this package of consultations, the Government intend to introduce legislation to reform product labelling for certain products where the UKCA—UK conformity assessed—or CE marking applies. These measures follow the product safety review and the Government’s subsequent commitment to consider the most effective way to introduce digital labelling. The measures will give more flexibility to businesses over how these products are labelled, both physically and digitally. This is only the first step. The consultations build on this announcement and include proposals to provide greater flexibility in product labelling in the future.
I have placed copies of the consultations in the Library in both Houses.
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These measures maintain and build on existing protections under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013.
Government response to the consultation on the implementation of the new subscription contracts regime
The Government have reviewed the evidence submitted through the consultation process and will bring forward secondary legislation for the following proposals:
Cooling-off rights and refunds
If a consumer exercises their 14-day initial cooling-off right (after they sign up) or 14 day renewal cooling-off right (after trial ends or a contract renews for longer than 12 months), new return and refund rules will provide:
For returnable goods, consumers will receive a refund when goods are returned, including standard delivery costs.
For perishable and bespoke goods, they will receive a full refund if they cancel before the goods are supplied. If they cancel after the goods are supplied, the trader will be entitled to reduce the refund by the value of those goods—including all delivery costs.
Where goods are sealed for specified reasons—for example, for health protection or hygiene—and become unsealed after delivery or goods become inseparably mixed with other goods after delivery, the trader will be entitled to reduce the consumer’s refund to cover the value of these now unreturnable goods.
For service contracts, if consumers cancel during an initial or renewal cooling-off period, they will be entitled to a partial refund proportionate to the services supplied before cancellation.
For digital content contracts, consumers may waive their initial cooling-off right in return for the supply of digital content during the initial cooling-off period. If consumers cancel during the renewal cooling-off period, they will be entitled to a partial refund proportionate to the digital content supplied during the renewal period before cancellation.
Extension of the cooling-off period
If a trader is in breach of the requirement to inform a consumer about their cooling-off rights, the cooling-off period extends to 14 days after the trader corrects their breach, up to a maximum of 12 months after the original end date.
Ancillary contracts and mixed contracts
We will legislate so that if the main subscription contract is cancelled, ancillary contracts are treated in the same was as they are under the existing Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013.
Contractual terms and auto-renewal
We will legislate to prevent contractual terms that make it disproportionately difficult for consumers to stop a subscription from auto-renewing.
Cancellation remedies for breach of duties
If traders breach statutory obligations, such as failing to send reminder notices, consumers will have clear rights to appropriate refunds. We will also introduce a list of specific breaches for which refunds will apply automatically.
Information notices
Consumers must be provided with clear information about their contract and the purpose of communications must be clear. Notices must be provided on a “durable medium” (a format that the consumer can easily access in the future) and important information must be both clear and prominent.
Charitable memberships
We recognise the vital contribution of the UK’s cultural and heritage charities, and the public benefit they provide. In response to concerns raised by the sector, the Government will exclude certain charitable cultural and heritage memberships from the new subscription regime, ensuring they are not subject to additional requirements beyond those that already apply under existing consumer law. Broadly this will exclude contracts which are between a charity and a consumer and that allow consumers to attend performances, see collections, or visit places—for example, museums, galleries, historical properties, landscapes, wildlife, performing arts—which are related to their charitable purpose.
Next steps
This new framework will empower consumers with clearer rights, fairer terms, and easier ways to manage their subscriptions. It will also support competition and growth by ensuring businesses operate on a level playing field with strong, trusted consumer protections at its core. Under the new regime, consumers will benefit from:
Clear, tailored information before they sign up to a subscription.
Reminders before a trial period ends or a 12 months-plus contract auto-renews.
Easy, straightforward cancellation routes, including online cancellation if consumers can sign up online.
A new renewal cooling-off period, allowing consumers to exit a contract within 14 days of a trial or a contract renewing for longer than 12 months-plus if they change their mind.
In a world where an increasing numbers of goods and services are sold using subscriptions, these measures will protect consumers from being trapped in unwanted subscription contracts and be better able to control how and where they spend their money. Together the measures are anticipated to provide £400 million of consumer benefits per year.
The Government will bring forward secondary legislation covering the above, when parliamentary time allows, and we expect the regime to commence in spring 2027. We will also publish guidance to support implementation.
I am placing a copy of the Government response to the consultation in the Libraries of both Houses.
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We welcome the Business and Trade Committee’s recent inquiry into economic security and their agreement that the Government should explore new powers in this area.
To support this, my Department has published a summary of the Government’s existing powers in this area and set out the case for considering new powers, including what form such powers could take. A copy of the call for input document has been placed in the Libraries of both Houses and is available on www.gov.uk.
This is about one thing: protecting working people from economic shocks they did nothing to cause. If new powers are required, we will introduce them. We will always try diplomacy first. But if that fails, families, businesses, and communities across the UK deserve to know that their Government have the tools to stand up for them. We are not changing who we are as a trading nation; we are making sure we can stay who we are, even when others play by different rules. This is what this call for input is about, and that is how we deliver growth that works for everyone.