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20 Sep 2023

ACT members will benefit from a long term discounted commission of just 3%

18 Sep 2023

Sustrans are calling on schools and families across the UK to take part in Cycle to School Week from 25 to 29 September to experience how travelling actively can be healthy, cheap and fun.

18 Sep 2023

New statistics showing a 5% fall in cycling from last year should be a “wake-up call for the government” and are due to the Government's "flawed" decision to slash the...

18 Sep 2023

The government’s Active Lives Survey has revealed that, in 2022, Cambridge (50%), Oxford (35%), Isles of Scilly (30%), Hackney (28%), and Southwark (25%) were the five local authorities in...

18 Sep 2023

ACT member Balfe’s Bikes has begun its plan to introduce Cytech apprentices to its stores and upskill existing staff through the Cytech training programme.

15 Sep 2023

The team from Whistler Adventure School (WAS), which recently became the only centre in Canada accredited to offer Cytech technical three, is to deliver a series of free sessions in Scotland,...

6 Sep 2023

Offers designed to help Londoners 'make the green transition' following the expansion of the ultra low emission zone (ULEZ) last month include a range of discounts, offers or trials available...

6 Sep 2023

A new report on the state of the UK cycle industry suggests that bike sales have fallen once again, months after it was reported that they had fallen to a 20-year low in 2022.

6 Sep 2023

Rebecca, staff member with the ACT has released an EP on the music platform Spotify, with popular local band Thee Derelique.

5 Sep 2023

Small and medium sized retailers who may be struggling amid current economic challenges have been offered an opportunity to share their stories on TV.

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ACT welcomes government support for business energy bills

Posted on in Business News , Cycles News

The Association of Cycle Traders has welcomed the government’s announcement that it will be funding support for business energy bills over the next six months.

Through the new Energy Bill Relief Scheme, the Government will provide a discount on wholesale gas and electricity prices for all non-domestic customers whose current gas and electricity prices have been significantly inflated in light of global energy prices. This support will be equivalent to the Energy Price Guarantee put in place for households. It will apply to fixed contracts agreed on or after 1 April 2022, as well as to deemed, variable and flexible tariffs and contracts.

The scheme will cover energy usage from 1 October 2022 to 31 March 2023, running for an initial six-months for all non-domestic energy users. The savings will first take effect for October bills, which are typically received in November.

A spokesperson for the ACT said:

“It was essential that the Government put in place support for local independent retailers and, in many cases, will be central to their ability to continue trading. We remain concerned about what will happen at the end of this six-month support package and urge Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to regard today’s announcement as the start of a process to support businesses through the energy crisis whilst intensifying the focus on a more energy efficient future.”

The spokesperson continued that whilst the support is welcome, it shares the Federation of Small Businesses’ concern that small companies may not qualify for the Government’s energy bills support scheme. The FSB is calling for a “hardship fund” to be set up to help businesses ineligible under the scheme or still struggling with costs. Under the scheme, businesses on fixed price contracts signed after April 1 will have their bills fixed at around £211 per megawatt-hour for electricity and £75 per megawatt-hour for gas, while companies on variable contracts will get major discounts. However, the FSB warned that companies may have signed contracts at high prices before April 1, while others have been pushed into difficulty by energy costs since then.

The Prime Minister Liz Truss said: “I understand the huge pressure businesses, charities and public sector organisations are facing with their energy bills, which is why we are taking immediate action to support them over the winter and protect jobs and livelihoods.

“As we are doing for consumers, our new scheme will keep their energy bills down from October, providing certainty and peace of mind.”

The government will review the scheme in three months and then decide on further support after March 2023.

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